[custom_adv] Orphaned at a young age, Balushi has grown her menagerie over the past decade, identifying with her furry friends, many of which were rescued from hard lives on the street. [custom_adv] Oman has seen an upswing in stray and abandoned animals in recent years, local media report, despite penalties of $25 for dumping a pet.A mother in Oman also cares for 480 cats and 12 dogs at her home. [custom_adv] Maryam al-Balushi, who lives in the aptly named capital of Muscat, saying she bonds with the kitties better than her human counterparts. [custom_adv] “I find that animals, especially cats and dogs, are more faithful than humans,” al-Balushi told Agence France-Presse as cats dove off a nearby scratching post. But she wasn’t always crazy for kitties. In 2008, her son bought a Persian cat which, at first, Balushi shunned. [custom_adv] “Like many mothers, I refused to look after it as I did not like animals and my son did not pay it much attention or look after its hygiene,” the retired civil servant, 51, said. [custom_adv] But two years later, she found herself caring for another cat, sparking her fur-ever love for felines. [custom_adv] “I found myself totally immersed. I took care of her entirely, feeding her, bathing her and spending a lot of time with her,” she said. [custom_adv] Balushi quickly became known in her neighborhood as a newfound animal lover, with departing expatriates abandoning their pets at her doorstep. [custom_adv] She bought her own home in 2014 — following complaints about her growing collection — and was able to take on more animals. She spends about $7,800 caring for the creatures, 17 of which are blind, and her house is full of cages.