My lovely Pussycats etc.

Over the years I learned a lot about cats' behaviour. The way their mother treats them influences the kittens, they of cause also have their father's gens but he normally isn't around to educate the little ones. A gentle quite cat usually has kittens just like her, as a rule all looking different (not the same father), but 1 much like mummy. The standard number in Tunisia is 4, I've also seen 6, but 3 already dead at birth. The mother eats the afterbirth, it provides her with the necessary nutrition. Some cats (and dogs) eat their dead little ones, others don't. May be a protection by nature in order not to attract other animals, or because of the same reason as they eat the afterbirth. I must admit it took me a while to get used to the idea. The cats in my house are operated (birth control), this also means no stress while on heat. I had 3 cats about to give birth in front of my entrance door and thus was forced to give them shelter and food (which they already received before) etc. One Persian cat and her 2 babies died the next day. I knew the owners, who shocked me by just not caring, stating: She was old and had many kittens. The vet advised me 7 years is regarded as old here. Many little ones die before they are 2 weeks old, in addition several get run over by cars, which remains a horrible sight for me. When this happens in the neighborhood kids usually inform me, according to their language I live in the cats' house. I can pick up some of the street cats without getting scratched, stroke them, clean their nose and ears but Amira and her daughters (Bijou, Sandy, Soleigh) are different.

They are difficult patients. When I tried to put Soleigh into the transport box she got frightened and attacked me. Her brother, Tiger, wanted to protect me and attacked her to my surprise. By the way, Amira was a great caring mum until she fell pregnant again (she was my first female cat, we didn't know at the time and had her operated), then she started to beat her kittens. (Did she want them to make space for the new generation?) Sandy panics a lot and is not exactly friendly with other cats. In addition she doesn't feel comfortable with my husband, she only trusts and likes me. - Some times folks asked me for a cat. Could they come inside, inspect my cats and choose  one? I haven't got an exhibition of cats. Besides their ideal is a kitten too young to be separated from their mum and it should be checked by the vet and be absolutely flawless. I have 2 cats (Tareqqa and Myriam) with only one eye (Myriam was badly injured after an accident when I took her and got her broken jaw etc. operated), one without a tail, Honey, several had injuries e.g. Lilly a big bump on her head, a wound on her thigh, now healed. Why should an animal be flawless when we are not?  Needless to say some folks are different, they just want a gentle cat. By the way, a 🐈 can help you to relax and while purring reduces her human friend's too high blood pressure if necessary.