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.