BAGHDAD — The mission was to get Simba al-Tikriti out of Iraq and to a new life in Britain.

First, a roadside bomb nearly wiped out the taxi heading to the border with Kuwait. The next step was to hide under tarps in the back of a truck. More hardship awaited: six months caged by authorities in England.

But freedom eventually came for Simba, who walked away from captivity with tail held high.

So began the improbable work of the self-proclaimed Cat Lady of Baghdad.

Since Simba’s journey three years ago, she has managed to send four more cats and two dogs back to her native England. The costs — which can run up to $3,500 per animal — are covered by donations and her “old stuff” sold on eBay.

It is impossible to gauge how many dogs, cats and other animals have been rescued in Iraq in the past five years by soldiers and foreigners.

But as she left Baghdad for a vacation, there beside her sat Tigger, a skinny street cat with half a tail, on his way to Britain.