What is in it for me

A veterinarian comes to see a medical practitioner. "I shan't tell you what's wrong with me. My patients can't inform me, let's see how you would manage if you were in my shoes." So the doctor examines the veterinarian. Then he writes out a prescription and says: " Take this three times a day after meals, return if you aren't better after a fortnight but I am afraid then I will have to put you down." - Whenever a car parks near my house it is quite likely that a cat will walk underneath it in order to look for temporary shelter or just shadow. The other day I viewed a kitten doing just that. With one boy inside and another little boy outside it looked to me as if the car won't stay much longer and not sure whether the kitten will run in time to safety, I decided to inform the little boy that a kitten is presently underneath their car. The boy's reaction was brilliant, he bend down, had a look and shouted: "wow wow, wow wow. It worked, the kitten got the message and ran to a saver place. Of three lovely black Persian (folks here call them "Turkish" because Turks brought them to Tunisia) tiny cats only one is still alive, one got hit by a car I am told, I found him dead on the pavement. So the mother just arrives with one kitten at my "cats' table" now, very sad. I would have loved to take them indoors, but this wasn't possible, unfortunately I haven't got a farm, not even a garden, just two terraces, a sanctuary farm would be great. Anyhow, my cat community has grown, even though we force "family planning" on our little treasures. At present several require dental treatment, I was shocked to note that this can even be the case at the tender age of four months.
Cancer is spreading and also effects animals. Amira our first Tunisian cat, approx. eight years old, has now been operated for the second time. Should there be another growth then the vet won't be able to save her life, we are told. Amira is like a family member for us, we hope that all will be well. We try to limit the number of cats in the kitchen. Grace developed a special trick to gain access. She jumps on my husband's back, wraps herself around his neck and enters the kitchen together with him. Today our darling Bijoux died. She was 6,5 years old, Amira's daughter, lately in a very poor state of health, only bones and fur, she used to be so gorgeous, in spite of all our attempts to save her life, the vets couldn't help our Bijoux. Sweet Mallek tried to comfort her and stayed with her until her last moments. A real angel (Mallek is the Arabic word for angel, looks like I had picked the right name for him), mainly white soft fur the gentle boy. We miss our Bijoux, every cat is special, has her own character and soul, I remember when she was born together with her sisters Sandy and Soleil and one brother, Tiger. Amira had allowed me to assist her and watch these little treasures seeing the light of the world. There are many things in life that are not really necessary, wouldn't like to live without cats though, they have become essential to me and my husband. There are absolute beauties out on the street, happy if they can find shelter, water and a bit of food. Some folks thought we brought cats from Europe, that would be like taking coals to Newport, owls to Athens.....we found presents from heaven right in front of our door.

PostScript What is in it for me

"We just require the mere contact to convince the natives that our intentions are pure and honest and that we serve more their materialistic and social well being than our own interest." Henry Morton Stanley (report to the Belgium king 1879).
With high unemployment and raising costs depression is also increasing, yet it is easy to put a smile on the face of even total strangers, give them a smile and it will usually be returned. My husband likes to hand out sweets, just a couple of Bonbons can do the trick. The other day a taxi driver informed us he kept his for his little daughter who told him: "I know the woman you got these from, she often gives me Bonbons too." The kids in the neighbourhood call me "Madam Bonbon". Various products disappear from the shops from time to time ( presently not available) some medications, sugar, milk, butter, potatoes
 not a big problem, imports arrive and after all not everything is constantly necessary. More tourists are arriving, Tunisia is worth visiting, there is more than just a fine sand beach, lots of sunshine, holiday at low costs. Some Russian tourists thought one Dinar pays for a long taxi ride, well I think they misunderstood something, taxis are cheap, but not that cheap. If the meter is switched on you can be fairly sure that you are charged the correct price. While not every taxi driver is honest, the high majority is. Tricksters can anyhow be found in most countries. What have Russian tourists and local folks got in common? Both usually are not very generous with tips I am told. It is of course easier to be generous when you have a reasonable amount of money in the bank. By the way, for unknown reasons Residents and Tunisians who receive foreign currency from abroad don't get the same rate of exchange as tourists do, needless to add a less favourable one. As Wolfgang Borchert put it: " What is a bank robbery compared to opening a bank?"

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Retrospective Thinking Positive

In North Africa the blue colour is very popular, it is used for houses, iron mountings, fences, etc. While cats can't see red they recognise various shades of blue, looks like the little fur angels are well equipped for this part of the world. Kids arrive fully dressed like they are going to play professional football, only problem: their chosen sports field is the crossroads. They advised my husband that this is practised here for 25 years meanwhile. I guess the last two presidents allowed this? Surely there was less traffic, donkey carts..... (we urgently need playgrounds, we usually have 20 to 30 children playing right here). Drivers who know this area frequently slow down ( young motorcyclists to a lesser extend), either because of the cats or the kids, don't know who is thus unwittingly protecting whom. Older cats respect the traffic, check before crossing, look to the right and left while the local children tend more to ignore pedestrians, cars and motorcycles. The street belongs to them but if they are forced they will tolerate the traffic. It appears to be fashionable to keep birds in a cage. Those I have seen differ from those in middle Europe, fairly small, no sand at the bottom, no bath (plastic attachment filled with water), etc. all very basic. Folks often hang these bird cages temporary outside but not always making sure that the chosen place doesn't get too hot. Generally speaking I think we could do with more consideration for animals' well being, if you seek the shadow maybe the animal would also prefer it to bright sunshine. The chickens crowded in cages in front of several shops are not a pretty sight, often "pre-plucked". Because of the stress they suffer they pull out feathers. The situation in Europe is not much better in those chicken "concentration camps", in Tunisia the situation of animals intended for slaughter and sale is more in the open. The heads of cows hanging in front of butcher shops are mend to proof that the meat inside the shop is fresh, I just find it depressing and some Tunisians also expressed they'd wish this practise will stop. - I told a little boy that there is a kitten underneath his family car. I loved his reaction, he bend down saying:" wow-wow, wow-wow." It worked the little treasure ran to a safe place. Clever boy!

Thinking Positive

"Whether coffee or sugar is of decisive importance for Europe's luck, I don't know but what I do know is that these two products founded the misfortune of two great world regions; America got depopulated because one wanted land for cultivation and Africa got depopulated because one wanted humans who do the cultivation." J.H. Barnadin de Saint Pierre, Voyage to Isle de France, Isle de Bourbon (1773)
The sun is supposed to have a positive effect on the psyche and one's well being and since cats love the sunshine of which we have plenty, I had thought cats would be fairly fit here. Discovering that young kittens, only four or five months old, already need a dentist came as a real surprise to me. Little Ricardo had to have three tooth removed, Natasha and Aisha likewise, at least Kitty and Honey are older, approx. five. Their immune system is pretty poor and their gens are often not optimal. It is the price the little darlings have to pay for living on what folks leave for them. Pus in the eye of kittens is not uncommon here, if left untreated, they will loose the eye and die early. Today I noticed pus in the eye of one of those lovely kittens that the mother cat had brought to rest underneath my outside yucca palm tree. It wasn't an easy job to grab the little one whom nature had taught to be cautious. She attacked me as expected in self-defence, therefore I quickly took the screaming baby inside so that the mother won't attack me as well (she was very nervous hearing her little one fearing for her life). I cleaned the eye, used first Physiol drops and then  put a bit of Oxytetracycline Pomade in the eye. Mother and baby cat were happy when the procedure was over and so was I. Time for my usual treatment of myself: Betadine on my slightly bleeding wounds. Luckily I have no intentions to compete in a beauty contest in the near future. As I provide the little family regularly with food we can continue to be friends, can't expect them to understand that my intentions are always good, poor little darlings. What I call my lucky day, may sound a bit strange. Late in the evening I called Honey to come indoors then I heard a familiar call  for me, Amira who went outside a few days ago returned, great to have her back. As we walked inside there is a cat yelling from our roof. It is Bijoux, our very poor sick girl who normally doesn't climb onto the roof. Unfortunately vets can't help her and she hates being taken there. Anyhow, next thing she jumped off the roof onto our awning. With the aid of a ladder I managed to take her down and inside again. Our cats keep me on my toes, but if they are all well I am happy. Now that nights are getting fairly cold and wet, a season that neither cats nor I particular like, we will have a lot of sneezing, coughing, some times even fever, I try to keep them warm with little blankets, but they don't always stay that way. In addition some cats don't choose the ideal places for the night, on the other hand there are groups of cats nestling against each other, a beautiful site. A  man informed my husband he had been told I would sell cats. They are like family for me, who wants to sell family members?

PostScript What you may or may not like

Three oxen, young, middle-aged and old on a meadow, the young one discovers some lovely cows on a hill and suggests: "Let us run uphill." The middle-aged replies: "No, let us wait, perhaps they'll come downhill." Says the old one: "If we hide in the bushes on the left may be they won't notice us!" - There are three cute black kittens with a white "bib" and white "socks" under my Yucca palm tree outside my front door. They are approximately six to eight weeks old. Did folks from the neighbourhood bring them there? Actually no, it turned out that a cat that has been a regular visitor to my cats' table chose that place for her babies. She joins them there to feed them her milk. Clever little darling, other mother cats that I couldn't take indoors, had to often carry food from my house across the street to their little family. Recently three women and one little boy on various occasions knocked at my door hoping I could provide their young cats with a home, unfortunately I had to turn them away. I hate doing this but any more additions are just not possible, neither financially nor concerning the space. More and more also creates stress for my little treasures, I don't want them to fight because of this. Some cats found a friend or several in my house, others would prefer to be "an only child", some are easy going, gentle and quiet, others very lively and demanding, not unlike us characters can differ a lot. Cats' language doesn't consist of just "mew", they make this sound when they need help, a different one when demanding food, or wanting cuddling or massage to be continued, purring when they are happy or in pain, seems to be a kind of pain killer, some "talk" while eating, appears to mean "delicious" in cat language. And of course there are sounds that advise "don't mess with me, leave me alone." A Tunisian lady returned from her holiday in Germany under the impression that while everybody seems to keep a dog (many on the road kept on a lead) there are not a lot of cats around. Well actually you can find more cats than dogs in Germany. As approx. 90 % of them are living indoors, unlike here, one can easily draw the wrong conclusions. A dog as a toy for disturbed kids (between 5 and 16) seem to be in fashion here, at least in this part of the town. Pretending to kick or hit the poor creature is their understanding of playing, not much fun for the dog though. It makes me mad to watch, I guess one must be grateful if the kids are just pretending and not throwing stones, etc. ! Unfortunately these kids are rarely told how far they can go, where the limits are.  The other day I viewed a little boy, approx 5 or 6 years old at the most (kindergarten diploma) driving a motorcycle standing upright. He did a round of a few streets and returned to his waiting father who seemed to be proud of his son's performance. When I asked him whether the law allows this and a possible accident would be acceptable, he replied that his son desired so much to drive the motorcycle and he stuck to the roads in the neighbourhood. I am glad that a gun in the house is pretty rare here (unlike in USA), what if the toddler wants to shoot a bit? Rumour has it that this week's holiday (one of ever so many) is designed to provide students with time to study at home, judging by what I view I think it is actually in order to provide these kids with extra time to play football, so important, isn't it?