Feline Lives Matter

 "Only the one who walks his own way can't be overtaken." Marlon Brando

Spring is here, no more cold and damp nights, life could be easier for the homeless, but Corona created a new problem, less places where food can be found, travelling restricted, restaurants closed, folks with less money. Most of my usual visitors to my Cats' Table still turn up, but some that have become dear to me are missing. Unfortunately I can't provide shelter for all. Gaby, a young inexperienced cat mum had two babies in a box I provided for emergency cases. Just like some humans she didn't seem to be willing to spend too much time with her little ones, after two days her first baby died, the other poor little darling after another week. I don't know what became of Mary's kittens after she took them away on account of excessively loud music last year. Lately Mary was on heat again, I hope I can get her operation (spayed and neutered) financed before the next generation developes. Last month I found five black/ black and white kittens in front of my door, the next day another black cat appeared, all approx. 6 weeks old. At least no longer new born babies, still blind. Looks like my message spreaded that if separated from the mother so extreme quickly their chance of survival is zero. Anyhow, another two yellow golden kittens followed. That is not the end of it, the latest arrival a little kitten, grey, yellow. white with both eyes sealed. I ignored her telling me to leave her alone. With Physiol solution I gently cleaned her eyes and then put a drop of Tobracort 3M in both eyes. And wow, the sweet little treasure managed to see the world again. Just as well there is mother milk powder on the market, even croquettes for kittens and thanks to my vet I knew how to treat her eyes. Quick reaction is important, the little treasures can end up blind otherwise. It is a hard world for the innocent darlings. The special croquettes I bought for my babies they enjoy, but they also want to try those for my big girls and boys who in return are interested in baby food. Experts say that cats ' IQ can reach that of an average two year old child. They can be little mischiefs as well. All are not alike, some are very gentle and love to cuddle, others are shy and prefer human to feline company. My Suzy is very fond of eating, it shows, and from time to time she likes to act like a male but she is always gentle with me. Suzy has got lovely fur with a red shine and managed to keep her full teeth, she's been with us since 2017. Next week we can celebrate Tiger and his sister Sandy's eights birthday. Their gorgeous mother was our first Tunisian cat, we are still very sad that she's no longer around. Having many cats doesn't prevent us from feeling deep sorrow every time one passes away. In the mornings I get very spoiled, woken up with purring (Tiger and Sandy) and a massage by Sandy, later on another one by Malek. His name means Angel. I couldn't have found a more suitable name for my lovely golden and white big boy, blind on one eye, part of our family for three years now. Great to have him! A young lady turned up, she wanted a cat, white, Turkish (in Europe called Persian), with vaccine, checked by a vet, spayed and neutered, could she choose one from my house? I advised her that though I have many cats there aren't any to choose from, most of them have become part of my family, only one of my cats has vaccine, I can't afford that treatment for so many. She was shocked. Folks here know what they want and they want it for free. You can have everything in Europe, including a chip, so if lost or stolen your cat can be traced. But there is a snag, you have to pay for all that and it's not at all cheap. By the way, the number of very young kittens secretly left at my front door lately adds up to eleven. I could of course ignore them and risk that they get run over by a car, which unfortunately happens around here from time to time, in particular to the inexperienced little ones. Another danger are sometimes dogs ( some folks even train their dog to hunt cats) and stone throwing kids, which my husband and I managed to reduce. The kids in the neighborhood all know that we won't tolerate this and several now even come to inform us if a cat gets injured and needs help. Positive changes are possible, they require patience. At present I don't know how to finance vet treatments including the family planning (spayed and neutered) and the extra food when my babies start growing up. I hope they can get adopted one day. They deserve a good family, not where they are treated like toys or worse.