Winter time

 If you are not high class, at least your cat should be (but of course all cats are more or less). The former most expensive cat in the world, white with brown paws, ears, nose, mask and blue eyes has become very fashionable in Tunisia. I used to have two of this kind for a while, without specially searching for them. My sweat Diana went outside one day and did not return (which she would have done if she could) because a woman from around here picked her up in front of my door and took her home. I was feeling sad and miss my darling. The lady admitted it some time later, Diana is now one of her four cats. I am not happy but Diana prefers to live with less cats than we have that I know. She has been spayed and neutered, does the lady know that? I don't get my cats marked (a bit cut off the ear) as we have all operated at the right age, I keep a record. I hope my darling is treated well. My other Siamones cat, Minusa, was brought to us by a young man in need of money. She has become a little princess and daddy's girl. - Corona restriction led to a considerable reduction of air pollution including all that noise created by those popular huge loudspeakers employed at various celebrations. For a while there was also more social distance keeping, no more women and men pushing in front, trying to be served first. But it still exists, old bad habits die hard! And this strange (at least for most Europeans) last arrivals getting served first. Customers feel entitled and those behind the counter frequently support it. At the optician's the young employee asked every customer entering the shop how she can help them. While my husband tried to convince me that those four people arriving after us had been asked to return a little later and therefore should not be requested to que up, the fifth customer turned out to be a beggar. Feeling happy to have him "served first" in this case, the young lady declined to do so and just send him away! I have been told that folks working for STEG (electricity and gas company) don't have to pay for their consumption. Lately they stopped sending an employee to read the meter, because of Corona, customers should do the reading themselves. Since we are now doing their work, shouldn't we at least have a reduction of the costs? - On account of bad experience I usually send my letters by registered mail. This time they run out of forms for the procedure. I wonder whether my letters will arrive. Four weeks have past. Several small parcels and seven of ten letters from a friend of mine in Germany disappeared in the Tunis Bamurda Triangle (or elsewhere), also mail from Great Britain. It can only get better. If you want to have your temperature checked, on account of Corona precautions it has become a free service at the entrance of several supermarkets. 

Prescious Diamonds on Four Paws

 "One of the most beautiful qualities of true friendship is to understand and be understood." Seneca

In Tunisia I discovered a lot of prescious diamonds on the the streets. The cats here are such amazing little beauties, why are so many out on the streets? Several obviously had been living in families before that don't regard them as a kind of family member, like Europeans usually do. Unfortunately there aren't animal protection laws ( more and more folks are demanding them). The way animals are treated tells you a lot about a society. Europeans are often horrified about the plights of animals. Guess that explains why women from various European countries living here decided to create animal protection organisations and shelter. I discovered e.g. women from Great Britain, Italy, Netherland, Swiss, France and Germany doing so, often with Tunisian partners. So much needs to be done. A few days ago a woman with hardly any money asked me for help. Her cat has been poisoned, looking as if she got epilepsy. I brought my transport box, we quickly took a taxi and brought the cat to my vet. She confirmed the poisoning and suggested to leave the patient with her overnight. The next day as I was about to start picking up the recovered cat, another woman from the neighborhood arrived, stating same problem, same symptoms, asking for my help. Same procedure. Fortunately this lady, though, knows the person responsible for the atrocity, a middle-aged woman who had stated that she wants to kill all cats around here. So I decided to pay her a visit. She lives around several corners, nearby. Having been shown her house, I rang the bell. As soon as she saw me, before I could say a word, she banged her door closed. Being in urgent need to address her, I kicked at her metal door (once, not several times as she lied later on). When she came storming out, I took my mobile phone and told her it's for internet. She tried to hit me and steal my phone. I shouted Haram, Haram Halufa. The Prophet Mohammed said: " Have sympathy with the animals on earth and then Allah will also have sympathy with you." What makes you think you have the right to kill innocent cats (and dogs)? Don't you know the Quran? The next day when I returned with my husband, a neighbor tried to defend her, that woman is her friend and also doesn't like cats I am told. I called her a liar. The woman who poisoned those cats (possibly more) told my husband she only used rat poison in her house. I replied that her house must be very dirty if she needs to do that! And that is is evil and Haram anyhow to make cats suffer like that and poison them! Other neighbors decided to support me and speak to her husband, how can his wife poison cats while he prays in the Mosque, don't they know that the Prophet loved cats? He promised to throw the rat poisoning into the toilet and that it will stop now. Every morning I count the number of cats attending my Cats' Table and of course I know my regular guests, some arrive from a small distance. Whenever any are missing I worry whether they are okay or something happened to them. For unknown reason Jasmina, Bella and Black Beauty don't come every day. The very young ones tend to disappear quickly again, unfortunately I can't offer shelter to all of them, the traffic is a big problem. We keep telling drivers to look out for cats and those who park here that a cat or more may be sitting underneath their vehicle. As it is getting colder the little treasures tend to be more hungry (those inside our house and the others). I learned from our vet that cats won't eat what they can't smell, so a blocked nose can kill a cat, horrible thought. Occasionally a homeless little darling allows me to clean her nose. I noted an adult black beauty stopped eating outside. Unfortunately she didn't let me clean her nose. A little while later I discovered she sneaked inside my house. As our precious angels on four paws didn't complain, the cat must be female. She cuddled with other cats but wouldn't allow me to touch her, at the same time carefully watching me. She can see that the others love me and come to cuddle with me. Shouldn't that make her feel secure? No, it doesn't work that way. If I could at least get her inside a transport box, then our vet could help e.g. with inhalation. I am getting desperate, she really needs help. My husband hopes she secretly eats, as we viewed her drinking water. By the way, the two poisoned treasures are fit and well again, thanks to our excellent vet who also managed to save several of our fur family members who fell sick or had an serious accident. We now have four cats with only one eye: Aisha, Grace, Tariqa and Myriam (plus two with one blind eye, Malek and Milka), two had successfully a broken jaw operated: Myriam and Precious. The "lady in black" our cat visitor, I named her Ramona, unfortunately left us the way she arrived, she sneaked out while we weren't watching. I looked for her everywhere, she also didn't turn up for breakfast anymore. Bad news. Poor darling.

PostScript Retirement and Death in Tunisia (May 16th)

 "Hell is other people." Jean Paul Sartre

The information I had and posted was not correct, Trautchen, the German lady who passed away in March, was not buried by her landlord, but through a woman across the road from her, a person who according to Trautchen can not to trusted, whom she would not leave on her own in any room of her house. Very strange. While I had been told she didn't find her final rest on the cemetery for Christians (Les Cypres, between Sousse and Khalaa Sghira), but at some unknown other place, she was actually buried  among other Christians (mainly from European countries). The funeral was very sad, I am told, only an elderly woman with a head scarf arrived. Buried in a simple wooden box with a matching grave, naked soil, old bricks on three edges and cement on the forth, no grave stone, like a homeless person. The elderly woman said she would upgrade the grave later on, but never returned. The funeral had been delayed as Trautchen died in her rented villa and authorities had to investigate first whether she died of a natural cause. Then the German embassy was informed who contacted her siblings and cleared legal questions. Corona led to a further delay. Trautchen had spent a not so small fortune on the interior of the villa she occupied, in addition she had three or four Motorolas for handicapped persons. The terrace was full of plants and various statues. The inheritance of all this was not enough to pay for a decent grave and headstone? Well it isn't if you are greedy! I don't know what happened to Trautchen's last will. She had told me she settled everything, paid for her funeral in advance, so her children won't have to spent a penny. To the best of my knowledge that woman across the road cleared the house, paid outstanding bills (if not covered by the bank account) and manged to get money from Trautchen's children in Germany for the funeral. When my husband and I found her anonymous grave, we were shocked. A marble headstone and enclosure, a few flowers suitable for the climate here, doesn't cost much! It is so embarrassing, but not for anyone without shame. The cemetery is neat and well kept, a gardener works there full time. He told us they get there from time to time folks who say they will return and make the grave look nice, including a gravestone etc. but never return. By the way, on All Saints Day, Nov. 1st will be a ceremony held on the Les Cypres cemetery with a priest, in memory of the deceased. Nice idea for families and friends who lost a loved one. Below on the right how we finally discovered Traudchen's grave, very basic, a poor man's grave (naked soil, no plants, no grave stone, nameless)

Sense and Sensibility

 "We are all prisoners of hope." Cornel West

Haven't seen Bella for a while, a beautiful gentle street cat that loved to cuddle and accompany my husband or me when shopping in the neighborhood. I had tried to take her indoors, but she didn't agree with my other cats. Wanting to save her from having too many babies, I had her spayed and she was fine afterwards, remained detached to us, I enjoyed seeing this little bundle of joy come running to me. I fear she must be dead and there is now a black and white younger cat, Betty, who copies her. Worrying she might get run over by a car, depending on where I am going, I sometimes return to the house and fetch a bit of food to distract Betty before I start off again. She is so cute, I am pretty sure Betty lived in a family before and some other fur jewels as well. They deserve better. Strange, there are folks who worry that getting a cat or dog spayed and neutered may be "Haram" (against the religion), yet kittens are thrown in the garbage, those considered surplus put out on the street, others willfully killed, brutally murdered. We urgently require animal protection laws, like existing in other civilized countries. One of the best countries for animals is Turkey: "All animals are born equal and have a right to live, to be protected against infliction of pain, suffering and torture, prevention of all types of cruel treatment." In addition it is proposed in a coming law to fine those who abandon their pets 10 000 Turkish Lira (approx 1,745 Dollar) and imprison a minimum of two years and one month for crimes committed against animals, no bail no fine sentence instead possible. Wow, this is fantastic! Quite a few Tunisian are interested in Turkish culture, say we have a lot in common, why not learn from Turkey a different attitude towards animals, punish their abuse and senseless killing, teach children to respect animal rights and that it is HARAM to do them any harm. By the way, the other day I watched a little boy attempting to kick a cat and when I shouted Haram, his mother walking behind him at a short distance made a sign showing me she approved of my reaction. (Usually parent and child just look surprised.) Three of the last eight cat babies that a woman had packed in a plastic bag and thrown onto my cactus plants, suddenly died approx two months old. They always remained skinny in spite of all my efforts. Cats' mother milk powder is helpful to raise the babies, but not the real thing.... my babies look for a mum and try other cats here of various ages, male and female. Some enjoy playing mum, even male cats, interesting. Two of the originally four lovely gentle female cats, at the time four months old, cramped together in a box left in front of my door, mainly live on my roof terrace and several of my other cats frequently try to provoke them. I don't know why they do this, maybe they feel we are too many already. Anyhow, Rachel and Rachida are not happy with those other cats and I wish a good home for my sweet ladies. (The other two girls were adopted) I need to find a family for them as well. They deserve a good for ever home where they can ideally live together. The original family wanted to put all four out on the street but their approx eight years old boy showed sympathy and brought them to us. Sometimes children are better than their parents. This gives me hope. I believe that if kids are taught the right values they could even teach adults!

PostScript Even for Beauties Life can be Tough

 "We are not rich by what we possess, but by what we do without." Immanuel Kant

It being very hot I asked a neighbor whether I may leave an empty ice cream box filled with water on his pavement for outdoor cats. He had no objections, it's in addition to that in front of my house. I used to also put croquettes in such a box on a neglected pavement (long grass, lots of paper and various pieces of plastic, wood and metal) of a house whose owner works in France and thus is rarely here. When she returned I found both boxes removed, even that one in front of the other house (they placed in front of my door!). When my husband and I passed her house, that stupid woman stood there together with a Moroccan woman, a " good story teller",  advising us that one should leave cats without food and water as they produce excrements. The not so bright, stone hearted women kindly allowed me, though, to provide cats with food and water along my house. Don't expect this to be a joke, around here one can easily get the impression that house owners have no rights, kids and youngsters can do as they please. I often get the smell of stinking diesel on account of motorbikes racing around here, surprising that only kittens are the usual victims (motorcycles and cars). Lately two small kids turned up on mini motorbikes, tuned to create maximum noise just like the big ones and stinking just the same. Youngsters and male adults viewing these got shiny eyes, such a dream...... Who cares about the environment? I don't think kids are taught to protect, live now and ignore the future. Take what you can get and don't worry about animal rights...... I want to be fair, not all are like that, the number of folks willing to protect cats and dogs, demanding animal protection laws, is on the increase.

Even for Beauties Life can be tough

 "Only the guy who isn't rowing has time to rock the boat" Jean Paul Sartre

I have a lot of beautiful cats in my house, there are the two Siamoa cats Diana and Minusa (once the most expensive cat in the world, now very fashionable in Tunisia, which doesn't mean you can't find them homeless on the street), Persian cats Aisha (only one eye) and Amelie,  a bit of Persian: Jessica, Fleur, Capucco, Melanie, Burma cat Lilly, black and white Adamo, Claudia,  black with white socks Khaled, all white Milka (one eye blind), mainly white: Julino, Ricardo and Mallek (one eye blind), three colour beauties: Myriam and Tareqqa (both only one eye), gorgeous Nathalie and Kitty, golden coloured Sandy, mixed coloured: Tiger, Janina, Eileen, Natasha, Fritz, Larissa and Johanna, little Moses, white with grey spots, face resembling Hasky dogs: Adele and Alien, all grey: Grace and Jessica and little  newcomers: black and white Max and Moritz, three coloured Precious (white, black and golden), seven more: all black two, black and white two, black and beige one, white with black spots two (approx four week old, some with shortened tail.) All these treasures I found in front of my door, some handed directly to me, others were left in a cardboard box or lately thrown in a plastic bag and there are of course also those that I took to the vet after an accident and then kept. All old enough I had spayed and neutered, the little ones come from people who didn't take the trouble to get this done, perhaps didn't have the money or preferred to spend it on something else. I am afraid we are too many now and I urgently require families willing to adopt. Some of my older cats have health problems, I had to have their teeth done repeatedly, their blood tested and buy special croquettes for them. This applies at present to Lilly, Ricardo and Jolino, whose croquettes are 85 Dinar for 1,5 kg and now he doesn't like them while all the others would love to have his diet. A bit frustrating, to say the least. By the way, the poor little ones miss their Mum, they try to suck milk from male and female cats of various ages, some themselves quite young, this even though I give them the mother milk powder mixed with water. Obviously not like the real thing. Still, they are much better off then those without a family, a for ever home. If they are lucky they encounter folks who provide them more or less regularly with water and some food, often what is left over, including spicy hot food, not ideal but better than nothing. They can't afford to be choosey. There are some real beauties out on the street, very strange. Friends of mine in Germany said that they never saw such beautiful cats before. There you have to pay a lot of money for them, even when you get them from an animal home, because you have to pay for all the treatment the cat received, spayed and neutered, vaccine, check up. Folks here want all of this as well before adopting a cat, only the previous owner should meet the costs and ideally perhaps also for a year's supply of food. I am not saying all are like that thank heavens. If more folks discover the value of cats and dogs, I believe it will do our society good and maybe the lost brilliant, ever so charming North African big smile will return. I remember it well, at a time when guys were happy to possess a bike......

PostScript It can only get better

 "I am no longer accepting the things I cannot change..... I am changing the things I cannot accept." Angela Davis

Yesterday a woman dressed as if religious (some like to fool you like that) went passed my house and throw a plastic bag behind the metal fencing, behind which large cactus plants replaced the previous flowers a while ago as several of these got stolen or damaged by hooligans. A neighbor watching thought at first that the woman dumped her rubbish there. (By the way one can be find 60 Dinar for throwing one's garbage just anywhere.) Fortunately our neighbour checked and heard that the bag actually contained kittens. It was very hot, anyone who puts cats in a plastic bag in a weather like that and on top of that throws this onto cactus plants commits a crime and violates the Prophet's teachings. It was very lucky we were at home and managed to save eight approx. 4 weeks old cat babies, they must be of two different cat mummies, as they usually have four babies. I wonder what happened to them, people can be so brutal. We experienced so much, a mother cat still with milk - the owner told us she has been spayed, another mother with her kittens in a cardboard box in front of our door (a lady later on apologized, said she didn't know what to do), very often 2-4 cat babies, some much too young to be separated from their mum, 4 kittens four months old squeezed into a transport box ( a y

Young boy later on turned up and said his family wanted to throw them out on the street and he wanted to prevent this), two have been adopted with the help of our vet. Lately we were forced to accept 9 young newcomers apart from these 8 babies, had we left them outside, they would probably be run over by a car meanwhile. Their life expectancy is so low and they are so cute and lovely. We hope that we can find folks willing to adopt. Most Tunisians prefer a male cat, the expensive one (I joke, if you are not posh, at least your cat should be...). I don't know how to finance our big cat community in the long run, when old enough they need to be neutered and spayed, I learned how to treat some minor sickness (got a supply of cat medication meanwhile, some people with low income come and ask me for help sometimes when their cat is sick), dental problems are frequent. Several cats relay on my Cats' Table, so I can't close it in order to save money. So far I financed everything with my private money, apart from a monthly 20 Euro donation from a cousin. We hope and pray that folks here will take the trouble to get their cat spayed/ neutered, respect our NO, we can't take more cats, teach their children to treat animals well, support animal rights for a better world!

It can only get better

"You don't realize how much people can hate, they can hate so much they'll tear the world to pieces." Arthur Miller

Walking along Rue Hedi Chaker (Sidi Bu Jafar, Sousse) , it is boiling hot, no shadow on the side along the beach. I remember a line of quite a few old tall Palm trees, that was before the revolution, why are they all gone? Come to think of it, there are altogether not many trees in Sousse, though

in some streets those planted by the French still exist, additions are pretty rare unfortunately, trees don't just provide shadow they also improve the air and help that towns don't get quite so heated up. Kairouan is there more up to date, the town authorities planted and still plant many trees; it also makes those roads look more inviting. Actually I too planted a tree 2 or 3 years ago, one of those fast growing ones with many small leaves. It was approx. 0,50 m high at the time and now it must be at least 2 m! One problem in certain parts of Sousse are the hooligans who don't value the environment and don't understand why it should be protected. Where parents fail, teachers and the media should step in and make kids at a young age aware of nature's (including animals) beauty and that only stupid people try to destroy and kill. Not surprising, folks in several countries were horrified by the brutal attack on an animal shelter home for dogs in Djerba, more than twenty dogs and puppies were slaughtered in a sadistic way that speaks of a lot of hate and evil characters. The criminals we're fairly quickly caught thanks to camera recording. Then a shameless mob went to the police station and demanded the release of the three devils. I wonder what is going on in their heads. The situation became unbearable for the dogs that survived and the animal protecting folks and they left with the help of many people dedicated to animals' well being, they came from various parts of the country and a demonstration for animal rights and putting a stop to killing cats and dogs (supposed to keep their numbers down, better ways are practised in several countries) took place in Tunis. Meanwhile the President signed a paper declaring that the killing will stop, the criminals will be send to prison and there will be zero tolerance for animal abuse. The right man at the right time in the right place. Thank heavens for that. Various organizations signed in support. The Prußian Philosopher Immanuel Kant: "He who is cruel to animals becomes hard also in his dealings with man. We can judge the heart of a man by his treatment of animals."

PostScript Much Scope for Improvement

Odette and Hakim

Jessica and Claudia

Amelie and Janina

"Only the guy who isn't rowing has time to rock the boat." Jean Paul Satre
Lately the number of sweet kittens in front of my door is increasing again. Unfortunately my possibilities are grossly overestimated. I appreciate that those who bring me their cats try to help them (at the same time get rid of pets they no longer want to keep for various reasons and do so with a good conscience). Fairly often actually kids bring the cats. Seeing it positive, kids too want cats to be alright. I would be very happy if I could offer shelter to all, but I must remain realistic, I have neither the space (no garden!) nor the means or energy to further increase our big fur angels community, further, our cats don't want any more additions. Fearing they would otherwise get run over, I already took lately inside Karim, Odette, Jessica, Moses, all very small and from different families. I managed to find new homes for three other little darlings. Sweetie, one of the regular guests at my "Cats' Table", had two babies. While one seemed to be doing well, the other one remained weaker, had an eye closed (managed to help her, carefully watched by her mummy). Then the stronger one disappeared and Sweetie lost all interest in the remaining one. I called her Misty, she ate very little, I had to force her to take at least a bit of cat mummy's milk (made with special powder). Misty didn't really look to me as if she's got much longer to live or that I could save her life, but I took her indoors nevertheless in order to allow her a bit of comfort. She died yesterday peacefully, r.i.p. Misty, poor little darling. The day before I found a cat's transport box with four 6-8 months old cats crammed inside in front of my entrance door. This really got me down, I felt so helpless. Beautiful, gentle, frightened cats, deserving to be treated well. I am on my own, with some support from my husband, what can I do? I urgently need good families to adopt these well kept little angels. Then a young lad informed me that he brought the cats, because his family wanted to kick them out, not that they were difficult, they just feel now that their flat is too small to keep them. At least he was honest, but that doesn't solve our problem. For the moment I gave the little treasures shelter in a small corridor. At first they didn't drink nor eat, still under shock. Just imagine being crammed in a box, taken to a foreign house, dumped there for unknown reasons.... Anyhow, good news, my vet says she might be able to find good families, one maybe take two cats. I hope and pray that this will work out, the gorgeous ones deserve good- for-ever homes.

Much Scope for Improvement

" People are always going to find something wrong with people who are not the exact same as them. That's the way it is. Black, white, short, tall, religious, whatever. People are bad." Chris Rock

It is summer and it is pretty hot, on the roof a bowl with water almost boiling hot - nevertheless some cats have got a cold, not what I expected. My vet recommended Bronchi-stop (0,5 ml and 1 ml 
water sprayed into the mouth), fairly cheap and works quite well. The main health problems of cats here is bad gum, bad teeth, generally a poor immune system. Many die as kittens, get run over by cars (they like to sit underneath for cover and shadow) and don't get much older than 5-8 years. Generally speaking cats are in a much better shape than before the revolution and many would be quite expensive in Europe, really beautiful and gentle, in spite of this often been abused by stupid ignorant folks and their kids. Children frequently simply imitate or react to their parents behaviour. Parents who are cruel to animals, tell their children that they are dirty, useless and therefore must be kicked or chased away, thus kids learn that it is perfectly okay to abuse animals, not aware that is actually contrary to the prophet's teachings (haram). Apart from that cats kill mice, cockroaches, scorpions, can work as an alarm clock, warn when a fire breaks out, comfort depressed or sick people, make you smile or laugh, play football with four legs. Dogs saved many folks life, buried underneath crushed houses, soil, snow or in water, aid blind persons, help trace criminals and drug dealers, offer true and loyal friendship. Cats and dogs are more useful than some good-for-nothings....
who like to believe that they stand high above animals. (How to get their brains pea sized? You just have to do a lot of pumping!!!) Anyhow, children who grow up with such bad models usually are aggressive, bullies, without respect,
don't become gentle but violent adults, often criminals. Many believe in beating their children if they don't obey, this is practiced in several countries and may well be the reason why we have so much violence in the world, control by fear. Bullies are not born but raised. There is hope that the brutal and senseless killing of so-called stray cats and dogs will be stopped in the future. At least some governors are open to alternative solutions to reduce the number of "unwanted cats and dogs", alternatives that are cheaper and work in the long run, already tried out in other countries. Besides, here are many folks who want the slaughtering to stop and the number of animal protection organizations are on the raise. They also have the support of quite a few veterinarians. I would like to donate the song of Cat Steven: "I love my dog" to those who order the shooting of dogs and poisoning of cats. Cat Stevens by the way later on changed his name to Joussef Islam and was denied embarking to US because some bright authorities there decided that someone with such a name must be a terrorist! Today two black and white sweet approx. six weeks old kittens suddenly arrived near my house. A little boy, 5 years old, attempted to kick one of them. Is this normal behaviour? Wouldn't it be more natural for a child to stroke the little fur darling? Well, not for these disturbed kids around where I live. It has improved though, they all know my and my husband's attitude and that hitting, kicking, and stone throwing, etc. is not acceptable to us. We live and demonstrate a different treatment of animals. I am proud to come from an educated animal loving family, or should I say I am lucky that abusing animals was never accepted in my family? 

Life ain't easy for Cats and Dogs

little Moses

Mother and daughter in law

 Sweet Odette

"Freedom is the right to say what some folks don't want to hear." George Orwell

Happiness is having a cat come running to you, never stopping to purr and when you stroke her/him telling you don't stop, when you start to move away, holding you back, reaching to you with one of the lovely paws, or waking up with one or two cats in your arms. Cats like to adopt old age pensioners because they have a lot of time for them and a regular income. In return cats can lower humans' too high blood pressure (just stroke their beautiful soft fur), offer loyalty and a deep friendship and of course they are happy to spend all the time in the world with you. They will never ask you for expensive gifts but may require medical care one day. They are so brave, not happy to be taken to the vet's but afterwards never grumble (unlike some kids and husbands). The vet's in Tunisia appear to be better at calculating the right doses for aenethatic to pets than those I visited in Germany. There my Filou nearly died afterwards, he fell over and got stiff. At first I nearly panicked, then I got very calm and concentrated on what I had learned during my first aid courses and how to reanimate a baby, just a very light breathe, the kiss of life. (For hygiene a piece of cloth between us) Thank heavens, it worked. My gorgeous black beauty returned to life. One day when I was late getting home, Filou waited for hours in front of my door (inside my flat) and when I finally arrived, he ignored me, pretended he doesn't know me and proudly walked away tail high up in the air, not allowing me to stroke him, my punishment for keeping him waiting! After a few minutes he returned and offered me his friendship again. Such a darling! Mummy Mary to whom I had given a make shift shelter together with her four sweet baby kittens, disappeared with her family one night. It was the night when an open air wedding celebration took place right in front of my door by people we don't even know. Unfortunately it appears to be a custom here to use loudspeakers fit for an Olympic stadium or several football fields, I am not exaggerating, for us it is like torture, for the cats it must be absolute hell. Poor Mary took her babies, one by one and brought them to an unknown less loud place. Extreme noise is by the way considered by experts as one type of harmful air pollution, unheard of by many noise loving Tunisians. I'd wish we would have laws that would force the ignorant to be silent at fixed hours and not exceed a certain level of noise, limit the size of loudspeakers in residential areas. By the way, mummy Mary returned next day for breakfast, a bit late, maybe she had a long walk. I see her regularly again, but not her babies. I can only hope they are okay. - We have the most beautiful cats and some lovely dogs out on the streets, several obviously fully breed. Sounds strange, well some folks' actions are strange, cats and dogs that turn out not to be the toys they thought the pet would be, not being able or  or not wanting to pay any more money on food or for medication, they choose to be cruel and kick them out (unless they can sell the ex-family member, most probably never seen that way). I was shocked to learn that in various parts of the country town authorities have so called stray dogs and cats shot or poisoned. Many are disgusted to see the slaughtering and it doesn't achieve anything, only sufferings. It hasn't worked for twenty years and still doesn't. In GB and parts of US there is no problem with rabies, they even have many wild foxes in GB , just a question of sensable vaccine. There is hope. The governor of Sousse aware of the brutal pictures of killed dogs and cats, comments of animal loving citizens  in the internet, pointing out that Sousse is a modern town and such actions aren't acceptable, listened to local vets suggesting to open a centre where cats and dogs can be vaccined, sprayed and neutered. They agreed to have this service available in four months time. Such a project won't require much money and will prove to be effective. Let us hope and pray that other governors will follow suit. Good to have here dedicated vets and a governor who is open for a new rewarding approach that also respects the prophet's demand to have sympathy with the animals on Earth. - A burglar got attacked by a dog who defended his owner and the property. As far as I could see the loyal dog only caused slight injuries. Nevertheless he is supposed to be killed because of attacking a human being. Should he have licked the burglar's feet ? Possibly allowed him to harm the owner? A person very close to me got murdered by a burglar, had he kept a dog, he may perhaps be still alive. In US you can shoot the person breaking into your house, here the dog gets a death sentence as a reward for doing his duty? Sounds like a bad joke, I hope and pray that more folks won't forget to switch on their brain before making such decisions, or do we want to encourage crimes? By the way, we have had a burglar equipped with a knife in our house, I heard he injured his private parts while climbing over our fences. Should we pay him compensation? Lol

Summer Time 2020

Malek and Moses

Jessica

Riccardo

 "If you are going through hell, keep going." Churchill
The recommendation to carry on wearing face masks and social distancing is mainly ignored now. Looks like back to normal, streets congested with traffic and air pullution raising again, pity. Some folks from the neighborhood are looking for a home for their cat's babies. Too few people took their  cat to the vet to be spayed and neutered, some because they couldn't afford to pay for this operation, others were not sure whether it's right or just didn't want to spend the money. I hope one day we will have an animal protection centre here, financed through donations, to enables poor families to have their cat operated and thus reduce the number of unwanted babies. The money spend on killing homeless cats and dogs could also be better investigated in such a project. By the way, not all pets out on the street have always been homeless. Some people kick them out in order to save money, or simply don't want to care for their perhaps awkward four legged family member. Maybe they never regarded the animal as such, only as a toy or pretty item. Hakim and Odette, kittens dropped behind my barrier, are developing well. I take them indoors for the nights, amazing Diana likes and washes them, wants to adopt the sweet little ones? Not all cats like foreign kittens, in particular those who have babies themselves. Minoussa, the beautiful Burmese cat, doesn't like the other cats from our big community, nor the kittens. Is it because she lost her own babies? Haven't got a clue what happened to them. I noticed too late that she still had milk when she was brought to me. The shameless lier said she has been operated and vaccinated. Vets here cut a bit off an ear as proof the "family planning" has been forced onto the female cat. All my cats have been spayed and neutered except those too young and Minoussa, I keep a record and refrain from using this marking. A cat from across the road brings her two golden coloured babies to my "cats restaurant". One of them had an eye closed. Luckily I know how to help her, it's quite easy if I manage to catch the poor darling. Nature taught them that it may be safer to run away. My first two attempts failed and I got bitten, just a short pain, enough to let her go. The next time I managed to hold her by the neck, put Physiol drop into her eye, clean it and then a bit of Oxytetracycline (from the vet). I had to repeat this procedure twice more, watched by the cat mom who wasn't sure what I was up to, but she didn't attack me, regarded me as a friend. Looks like I have a good reputation among cats! By the way, there is a construction site right next door to my neighbor who felt disturbed by Minoussa calling, some other building works somewhere opposite - maybe we should inform our sensitive neighbor (with those selective hearing ears) that the hammering, chiselling, welding and grinding works are not carried out by our cat. Some positive news, a year ago my husband requested a reduction of street lights. Now there is one less (was absolutely surplus close to another one) and the blinding much too bright lights have been replaced by softer yellow light. We are grateful and so is nature!

Good and Bad Days

Odette greeting the new day

Social distancing on account of Corona

Hakim and Odette love to hugg.

"Children have never been very good at listening to their elders, but they have never failed to imitate them." James Baldwin
It is June and the sun gets up early. I love to be woken up with bright sunshine. Our fur angels come running and don't get tired of purring. They have so much love to give. The advantage of the face mask is one can hide wrinkles and if you have  bad teeth, that as well. Most shops and cafes are open again, lots of traffic, very few facial masks and not much social distancing, one could think Corona has disappeared. Wishful thinking. Supermarket Carrefour employs a member of their security guards to check their customers' temperature, nice gesture, don't think many folks here use a thermometer as a precaution measure. Yesterday my husband discovered a cardboard box with four tiny cat babies in front of our door. They are at an age which doesn't enable them to survive without their mother and her milk, so I was relieved to hear that the mother had actually also been taken to our door, she just walked away and quickly returned. All too often we found cat babies with their eyes still closed (blind for the first ten days approx.) and later on they died in spite of all my efforts. Anyhow, the only solution I could think of was the little "cave" for the water meter, an idea a stray cat mother had a while ago. So I put the cute baby cats there and their mother who turned out to be gentle and accepting this new accommodation. I gave her water and food which she enjoyed and we started a new friendship. The next day a lady inquired about the cat and her babies and told me that she brought them to my house because she already has two cats and didn't know how to cope. It was good of her to be honest and I appreciate that she wanted to protect the poor cat mummy and her sweet babies. Always happy to help but now I can only pray that there won't be any further new arrivals. I won't be able to pay for more (I have no charity organization to support me) and my cats are starting to fight, some prefer less company. -

We can now travel again to other towns using minibuses or buses with less passengers (4 instead of 8) and a 50% price increase. The journey to Kairouan was pleasant, more space for us in the minibus and a good driver. The return trip, also by minibus, was a totally different matter. At first there weren't any minibuses, after we paid 7 1/2 Dinar each, we heard there is one now and the driver got the tickets. Surprise, surprise, 8 passengers and a multi tasking driver! He knew a short cut that took us to his house, where he picked up a bowl of couscous and demonstrated that he can't just telephone while driving (nothing new here) but also enjoy his meal! Prior to that an elderly gentlemen who fell with his motorbike after coming in contact with the minibus, got up and declared he is okay (hope he really is). Someone on the bus joked the guy jumped like a cat and cats have 7 lives. I have seen too many killed by traffic to believe that. Our Burmese cat wants to get engaged, she keeps calling. Our very special neighbour who likes to educate us and even invented new laws (just for us) complains that she is too loud. Interesting, children screaming at ear-splitting level, hammering, welding sounds, motorbikes tuned to the highest sound level (the Nuernburgring racing stopped several years ago and appears to be revived in front of my house), all that doesn't bother him, only our cat, poor guy. He seems to have a very selective way of hearing. I love the song and video: The Sound of silence (Disturbed)

Cats a Present from Heavens

Melanie and Natasha

Ricardo, Mallek, Capucco

Hakim and Odette

"An appraiser is one who feeds a crocodile hoping it will eat him last." Churchill
A gorgeous yellow/white cat with long fur (Persian, here called "Turkish") lives across the road, at least it did until recently. Now I frequently see her sitting in front of the entrance door to that house, but the door remaines closed for her. If the inhabitants are trying to save money by putting her out on the street, they should at least have the decency to let the little treasure sleep in doors! I don't mind feeding her (she has become a regular visitor to my Cats' Table), but I do mind seeing her sadness, frustration, disappointment with her family. Fancy suddenly getting kicked out on the street, forced to sleep rough! I shall never be able to understand such cruel actions, my cats are my family members. Their well-being is of great importance to me. This morning I woke up with Tiger in my right arm and Sandy in my left arm.  How they managed to snuggle up like that I don't know, but it felt like a great start into the new day! Unfortunately I had to take 7 year old Sandy (in Tunisia considered an old lady, I would call her middle aged at the most, in Europe 20 years or more are not so uncommon) to the vet to get her teeth done, 3rd time for her. My sweet Habibti panicked when I tried to put her inside the transport box. "Vetocalm" from the vet's doesn't work on her. In Germany I used "Baldrianoel" (Valerian drops), but this is not available here, only in the shape of tablets, not helpful at all as I wanted to use only the smell to make her feel relaxed.  Sandy's brother Tiger worried that Sandy may scratch, tried to protect me. He is absolutely unbelievable, later on when Sandy returned with most of her teeth removed and moaning, he tried to comfort her. Cats and dogs have so much love and sympathy to give, we should learn from them and must stop ignorant folks senselessly abusing and killing them! A yellow/white cat (coloured  similar to Sandy) in front of my door doesn't just visit me to find food, she is even more interested in cuddling and allows me to clean her eyes! Pity I can't take her indoors. With several cats I am quite sure they had a home before, they are so gentle and beautiful. Sometimes folks ask me for a bit of "Salami" (sausage for cats and dogs, not humans). Whenever I can I donate a bit, happy they do keep a pet and hopefully care . I pray that one day Tunisia will introduce laws for the protection of animals, teachers and parents teach kids the right values, open their eyes to see and appreciate the beauty in animals, nature and Tunisia.

Talking about Fur Angels

"A cat looks down on man, a dog looks up to man, but a pig will look man right in the eye and see his equal." Churchill

Feeding cats in front of my door, I explain to a man from the neighborhood: "My cats finished Ramadan and now they want to eat." "Well," he replied, " your cats eat during the day and have their Ramadan during the night." More persons are leaving water outside and some food for cats and dogs in various places. Sometimes even in front of my door for my Cats' Table. Makes a change, frequently they just try to find a new home in my house for unwanted cats. Good to see folks are trying to save cats, but it would be better if guys would have more of them neutered, spayed in order to reduce their number and possible suffering. It breaks my heart to say No, but I have to be realistic, I neither have unlimited space available nor funds. For unknown reasons the bank doesn't offer Residents the same rate of exchange as they do for tourists. I would have thought the difference between the buying and selling rate offers enough profit. (Not sure how much the state takes). Berthold Brecht (approx. 90 years ago): "What is a bank robbery compared to establishing a bank." - I watch a little kitten entering a food shop and then running out again as if chased by the devil. Wonder what those inside the store did to him. Anyhow, the poor little darling doesn't seem to know where to find shelter, I feel forced to offer just that. His name is now Moses and he feels happy and protected (my husband is less amused). Black and white Odette with blue eyes, and grey Hakim are two cute little kittens I lately discovered underneath my Yucca palm tree. I created for them  a hammock and gave them food and water. They now share cat mummy milk (bought as powder to be mixed with water) together with our white kitten Capucco, brown streamed Moses and Jessica (with a bit of Persian). Jessica I discovered one morning in the hammock of Odette and Hakim. All little treasures are happy with their new vice mummy, only I don't know how to manage in future if I don't find other foster families for them. Could be worse, a gentle lady from the neighborhood took three black kittens of me. Even though I get all the cats living with us spayed and neutered, there is a none ending flow of cat babies as folks down here don't like to have their cat operated. Leaving the kittens in front of my door step gives them the feeling they have done their duty. Can anyone please donate an animal shelter farm for me? I view a little kitten searching for a place to hide, then jumping inside a down pipe. My attempt to pull it out by hand frightens the tiny one and it tries to climb further up inside the pipe. The hole in the pipe, created  by a disturbed youngster some time ago at a height of approx. 1/2 a meter, proves to be helpful. I pour a bit of water through the hole and the poor darling comes "flying" out. Cats tend to hang around garbage containers in search of a bit of food. When I leave water for them there in our neighborhood, it often gets removed without a reason, it is just malicious, ignorant  kids or adults who don't understand that cats protect us against rats, mice and cockroaches. Our Burmese cat Minusa doesn't seem to like cats, but she accepts my husband and me as her family (does she believe she belongs to the human race?) as members don't always look alike. Our cats test how many fit on my lap, with three already there the fourth decided there is still space on top. I have to make sure little Capucco doesn't get squashed. Then Janina copies one of Lilly's idea and wrapped herself around my neck. No space wasted. Our gorgeous angels are so creative and they learn from each other by watching. I can't imagine living without their love and loyalty. A true gift from heaven!

PostScript Curfew, Corona and Cats

"Life is the sum of all your choices". Albert Camus

Officially there haven't been any more Corona cases nor death for four days, this is presumed to be good news, but one must bear in mind that with limited testing one gets limited results. Anyhow, the price for facemasks has gone down from three Dinar to 1/2 a Dinar and there appears to be no shortage. More than two hundred shops have been forced to close because of inflated prices. Generally I am under the impression that prices are no longer raising like they used to before Corona, but rental charges are supposed to in spite of high unemployment. In some areas, mainly in the south, there is a shortage of water, not very helpful with raising temperatures plus the recommendation to frequently wash one's hands. Curfew hours have been reduced to from 5 a.m.  - 11 p.m. for quite a few of us this won't make much difference, their personal curfew starts when they feel tired (I call it according to local customs category). Most shops are reopened, more folks, including several children, are wearing facemasks. It is forbidden to swim in the sea because of the pandemic. I had to see a medical specialist and was surprised that only 2 patients at a time were allowed into the big waiting room, which led to various patients waiting on the narrow corridor without keeping the recommended distance. Certain injections one gets from the pharmacist who usually charges one Dinar for this service. The prescription I received included 2 such injections. On account of Corona the system changed, a pharmacist may come to your house and charges 10 Dinar, no injection at the pharmacist's. Shocking news: stray dogs are getting shoot in certain parts of the country, they may not even all be homeless, nor do they need to look neglected or sick. Ignorant people without a conscience throw their dog or cat out on the street when they consider their pet to be no longer cute, awkward, too expensive or because of fake news believe such a measure would protect them against Corona. In UK experts are trying to train dogs to smell the Corona virus, it looks promising. Time to appreciate the friendship, loyalty and service we receive from our animals, they don't deserve our cruelty! In Europe various charity organisations offer cheap or free meals for poor folks and a few years ago I discovered in Germany in addition various places where one can donate animal food for person who keep a dog, cat or bird and are forced to live on low income. This would also be a good idea for Tunisia, (one would have to ensure the donations are not misused for resales) perhaps with the support of animal protection organisations (NGOs). I noticed quite a few tourists are interested in helping animals here, some I met at my vet's. By the way, Tunisia was the first country to make slavery illegal, why not become the first (?) African country to introduce laws for the protection of animals. If you teach your children empathy, values that include respect and sympathy for animals, they will grow up as better citizens.

Retirement and Death in Tunisia

"Freedom is what you do with what's been done to you." Jean Paul Satre

Approx. six years ago an elderly German lady addressed me in a supermarket. We stayed in  contact. Now she passed away and this is her story. Following the death of her husband and holidays in Tunisia which she enjoyed, she decided to spent her retirement here. The Mediterranean climate is supposed to be healthy and can reduce the effects of  various health problems, e.g.  rheumatism, arthritis, arthrosis. The lady was quite courageous, she didn't speak Arabic, French or English only German and Russian. Thus she was very much forced to rely on local help. Luckily one can find German folks (mainly on holiday) and also guys  who more or less speak German, not all are unfortunately trustworthy. People from Europe are frequently considered to be rich (often believed to be without a reason, undeserved) and hopefully stupid, happy to throw money out of the window.  Thus some requests are rather astonishing, like the guy she employed as translator (well paid) who thought she might finance his son's wedding, something in the line of 15.000 Dinar. Anyhow, my acquaintance encountered various thieves, male and female, burglars, tricky landlords, one man landed in prison. You may think amazing, sounds like she lived in little Chicago. Actually I noticed that these folks who have difficulties to differentiate between mine and yours often know each other or may even belong to the same clan. I sometimes joke: Their forefathers were pirates, what do you expect? Nevertheless the late lady never regretted (at least never for long)  her emigration to Tunisia. "I have my daily sunshine and I could never afford such a high level of living standard as I enjoy here. I am fine, thanks." Madam made the villas she rented look like palaces, which caused a lot of envying, but she spend very little, and I mean little, money on herself. I personally think she should have spent less on the interior and got herself a good private health insurance. It might have prolonged her life and reduced her suffering in the end. The private clinic being too expensive for her means she had been taken to the university hospital in Sousse where a stroke was diagnosed. The standard there was rather modest and visiting hours rigid, even though patients' evening meal has to be provided by visitors. So she just wanted to get out of that hospital and discharged herself before I had a chance to visit her the 2.  time. A few days later she was forced to return with the second stroke. Again she didn't stay long and could have done with intensive care followed by a cure. As it turned out she didn't have much longer to live. I saw  her two days before she passed away. She couldn't speak, had to be fed and was just lying in bed. Nasiha, a good, honest woman, who helped her a lot during her long months of sickness, put up with her moods (people suffering from diabetes can be quite difficult), did her best. While my acquaintance had always said that she wants to be burried on the cemetery for Europeans in Khalaa Sghira and has given the required sum for the funeral to Moncef in order to make safe that her children (in Germany) won't have to pay even a cent, her will has been ignored. According to my information it was the landlord who had to arrange her funeral and it was not where she wanted to rest. Her children sent some money. She had written her last will and left it either with the court or administration (Beladia), a copy with Moncef (?) and an ex- cleaner with whom she had fallen out in the past and didn't trust, so she told me over and over again. Very strange, wonder what happened with her last will. Wouldn't  be surprised if this also has been ignored. I was supposed to inherite a piece of furniture, I would prefer her still being alive and anyhow I am dead sure that the gift she designed for me has been stolen a long time ago. When the lady passed away authorities investigated in order to establish that it was a natural cause and they contacted the German embassy and her children to get their agreement for a funeral in Tunisia or Germany if desired. Authorities here want to be very correct, but I would have expected that the last will counts reference where one wants to be burried and if this has already been stipulated the children won't be asked. The procedure took some time and her daughter had problems making up her mind. This and possibly the Corona restrictions resulted in 51 days in a coolant room (a very modest charge of 10 Dinar per day) before the lady's body could be laid down for her final rest. I have yet to find out where this is so that I can visit her grave. Poor girl, she experienced a lot of ups and downs. About Nasiha she said that she had done more for her than her own children would have done! I am glad she also found good people here and this helped her to continue thinking positive. May the bad people guided by their greed receive one day the punishment they deserve.