Positive Changes are Possible

 "Hear with your ears, watch with your eyes, close your mouth and learn." Hawaiian saying.                                     With all the communication methods nowadays, we are provided with a lot of possibilities to learn from each other. Ideally national radio and TV are employed to gently teach the ignorant. (Albert Einstein: "Most stress comes from the daily contact with idiots.") At long last the government tackles the problem (meanwhile solved in many countries) of stray animals possibly catching rabies. A good chance for Radio National Rue Hourria Tunis to explain to uneducated simple folks the need for vaccination. But no, the presenter proudly declared that when he sees a pack of dogs in the morning (probably hungry and grateful if a kind person would donate a bit of food), he picks up a stone and says a sure, he doesn't know how one can hold these dogs and vaccinate them. Shameful ignorant, wonder what are the requirements for his post? I noticed that radio presenters do a lot of giggling, news are rarely read and at a high speed. I have never in my life felt threatened by stray animals, quite a few had a family before and were kicked out for convince, maybe need of veterinarian treatment and guys either not able or willing to spend the money. Lack of loyality and empathy is a human speciality! Amazing that abused animals are still capable to love man. They comfort old, sick and lonely folks, save humans buried underneath crushed houses, snow, from fire and water, aid the blind, protect humans, animals and properties, detect harmful drugs, etc. Sorry, let me take the liberty to compare street cats and dogs with kids roaming the streets all day. Those picking up stones, children and adults, worry me. These kids are constantly picking up stones, throwing them " just for fun" at cats, dogs and humans. I nearly got hit on more than one occasion, the last stone was big enough to kill or at least cause a servere injury. The usual comment of not very bright bystanders: They are children..... With just one word I can get dogs to leave the scene, when kids scream all day at ear splitting level and I ask them to play elsewhere or at least stop shouting, they use bad language or say "sorry" and continue a few seconds later. When you have up to 20 kids misbehaving in front of your door, it's not much fun. I am no longer the relaxed person I used to be. Lots of noise and exhaust gases are harmful for ones health. Last year 7 million people died worldwide from air pollution. It doesn't seem to worry folks here. Motorbikes are often tuned to be extreme loud and leave a black stinking cloud. Some residence areas are used as racing tracks, number plates are rare on motorbikes, makes stealing them and or using for street robbery easier. I hope vaccination of stray cats and dogs is only the start of animal protection laws and the end of senseless killing of them. Reducing the number of homeless cats and dogs can best be achieved by getting them spayed and neutered and teaching the ignorant empathy and responsibility. In fashion are Persian (here called " Turkish") and in particular Sisamoise cats. I joke: if you are not high class, at least your cat should be. Diana, my Sisamoise cat, was in a poor state of health when children tried to sell her. Following various visits to the vet, having been spayed and neutered, vaccinated as well,   she was fine when she walked outside, doubtlessly intending to return quickly (as she did in the past), but a thief was quicker. She must be kept indoors, without a chance to come back home. Folks here quickly get impatient, no time to waite until it's their turn even at the vet's, surprising with so many unemployed. In a hurry for what? A result of too much fast food maybe. Mediterranean home cooking is healthy, lots of fruits and vegetables, plenty of vitamins, good for the body and brain, but how much is still done? I noticed the urge for instant revenge even in very young children. One wrong word and stones are thrown, I find them on my pavement, with construction/repair works everywhere there is an endless stock of stones. This lack of self-control in kids and adults is not harmless. In the F. Bourguiba University hospital in Monastir family members of a deceased Covid patient attacked staff of that ward and destroyed the much needed material, which in return forced the Hospital to permanently close the Covid ward. An attempted assault on the president's life failed. Eye for eye, teeth for teeth - if practiced leaves half the world blind and without teeth. The original demand was not for such literal revenge but mend that if you feel you must take revenge, don't allow it to be in assess of what has been done to you. Difficult to judge the future development in Tunisia, writings on walls implicate that quite a few are "not happy". What we don't need is an elbow society without empathy. We can do better!

Living among lots of Fur Angels

Sweet Aisha with fur like silk following previous lots of problems with her fur and skin.

The end of a short feline life after having been torn away from the innocent mum that nature had provided with milk for her babies. Those stone hearted people are deaf and therefore can't hear the babies crying for their mummy. It is so brutal and wicked!!!

Well equipped thanks to Animal Hearts Tunesia

"Everybody is a genius, but if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will spend it's whole life believing it is stupid". Albert Einstein

Tinned cats' food can be mixed with a bit of rice or noodles. My black lady Lily and white honey Milka are a bit skinny, I gave them Kippy Pate with noodles. They liked it a lot, but Lily, a real gourmet, left all the noodles on the plate. When my husband gives her tinned sardines, she manages to sort out the tiny soft fish bones - most humans eat them, some street cats even raw fish completely (but the bones can injure the bowels). Stray cats love fish mongers as they and those who sell their fish via vehicles, often donate a bit to "nicely begging" cats. By the way, my kittens love Kippy Pate for kittens. Several tins were donated by Animal Hearts Tunisia, as my little ones came from the street, I picked them up in front of my door (in boxes, plastic bags or just left like that e.g. between my cactuses). Some look okay, others have pus in the eye, dirty fur, flea. Black and white Nena has skin problems (mushroom, can be treated) and suffers from hernia. She is still very young, the vet informed us that the growth near the navel can best be removed later when she gets spayed and neutered. My lovely big boy Ricardo, once found as a kitten underneath my Yucca plant, suffers from jaundice and had a cyst on the left side of his face/neck. The vet cut it without anaesthetic, my gentle white boy ( with some golden spots) let it happen without a whisper. He has been with us for two years now and knew he is getting help. Ricardo lately lost some weight, but his appetite is excellent now, which is a good sign. With Fury it was a different story, tiny he or she was on my pavement screaming. Afraid the little one may get killed by a car and no mother in sight, I took her indoors. For some unknown reason she/ he then decided that I am the enemy and kept running away from me, often hiding. When Fury had pus in one eye, which means losing the eye if untreated, it was quite a job catching the tiny kitten and cleaning the eye. I ended up with several deep scratches. Feeding is another problem, I solved it more or less by pushing the food bowl in the direction of my crazy babe. I decided not to force her/him and waite until I am accepted, maybe the other cats can prove that I have nothing evil in mind. Unfortunately there is no happy ending to this story. Fury died the other day, I could not comfort the little one. There is a statistic that shows how much a cat family can grow if no "family planning" takes place. Even though most kittens die before they are 1-3 months old, getting cats and dogs spayed and neutered makes sense, unless you wish to look after a four legged big family. My babies come from the street, all old enough and living with us had to accept and undergo the operation. Generally speaking it makes them more relaxed, "the boys have no problems with the girls/women" as a vet put it once. No more marking with urine the hunting grounds and less fighting. The same applies to dogs, following the operation they get more attached and less willing to run outside uncontrolled, wanting to "get engaged". One man somewhere else decided that doing so on the street is indecent for a dog and beat him to death. This happened in North Africa, not Afghanistan! Anyway, for a poor family that saved a street dog from a hard and dangerous life, Animal Hearts Tunesia decided to meet the costs for that lovely gentle black dog Jake getting spayed and neutered and receiving vaccination as well. Many thanks to Gisella Romdhani, Chayma Labidi and the donators. They also paid for the muzzle and lead. The other day a young girl passed my house together with her mother. Seeing me she stopped to say thank you for the sweets and chocolate she received several years ago, when she still lived in my neighborhood. Strange, one day later a woman with two little girls, approx. 2 and 3 years old walked near my house and I heard the older girl insisting that she wants to visit me as I would give her sweets. The mother didn't know me and tried to pull her away. She was very persistent and I rushed to get her Bonbons. Then the little girl asked me to give her a cat. The mother told me that her daughter loves cats,  but she herself doesn't, unfortunately. The little girl gave me hope. Maybe she can convince her mother one day that living with a cat is great and worth the effort.

What Might Surprise Folks Coming/Returning From Europe

 "You can easily judge the character of a man by the way he treats those, who can do nothing for him."Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.                                                                                           Cows' heads hanging in front of butcher shops, mend to proof all meat is fresh, but for Europeans, especially children, a shocking view and might well convince several that it is time to stop eating meat. In Germany 13,5 million cats and 8 million dogs live in households, seeing such pets here frequently being treated like vermin, kicked and hit with stones or sticks, shot or poisoned by kids, adults and authorities, is horrible. By the way, more than 50% of the Russian folks keep a cat. While Turkey is a Paradise for cats (going back in history Agypt used to be too) it is nowadays hell for cats and dogs in Tunisia, North Africa, Agypt and Afghanistan. Only the devil knows why, it is contrary to the preachings of the constantly praised Prophet Mohammed. For those who lived in East Germany (DDR) it must be like a deja Vue, finding several items, in particular imports, in shops  and pharmacy not always available, some due to the slow working custom people or unpaid bills. The so called salami is sold as for dogs only, anther type for cats and dogs (though their requirements are not identical, (e.g. only cats need Tourine for their eyes and heart), and lately one for cats only. Having ordered the later, the shop handed two boxes with the brand for cats and dogs to my husband, without a mention of the substituted item. You would have thought that my husband would at least be questioned whether he is willing to accept a different product. Such behaviour is not untypical. My hairdresser was asked whether she can put red streaks in my hair, she declared no problem and the result was really beautiful, several women told me so - but there is a problem she never mentioned, the colour is not waterproof. My hair discolours my clothes, my pillow and even my skin. Got caught in the rain, it looked as if my face was bleeding. The price by the way did not reflect the poor quality of the product. Lend a drilling machine to a neighbour, a drill item broke off, not mentioned, lend orthopedic walking sticks to a nother neighbor who had an accident. When he obviously no longer needed these, asked him to hand them back, it turned out he had lend them to a nother person. When kids are acting like hooligans, are extremely loud, you will be advised that they are children! When dogs bark loud and the town authority receive complains, the animals receive capital punishment. When young folks play very loud music from the roof of their houses, you are advised by their family or others that they are young and it won't carry on much after midnight. In most European states people would call the police, in France they would call the bailiff. Rest hours, during which one is supposed to avoid making noise, disturbing the peace, are unknown here. When schools are closed (seems to be most of the year), children sleep until lunch time and then stay up until after midnight, this includes the very young. You can see daddies taking their toddlers for a walk in the middle of the night. A Tunisian who had worked in Italy for ten years remarked that the people there are great, unlike here they help each other and that he misses the solidarity, respect and consideration for other people he experienced. Even though many are unemployed, everybody is in a hurry.  At the doctor's some lie that they were first, or insult, threaten the doctor's receptionist because they have to spend their precious time waiting. Several young and fit girls, women and men are happy to take the taxi you ordered, guess they think the elderly won't be missed anywhere. Don't know what to make of Aljazeera English, after they changed their channel, it can no longer be received without a receiver and some monthly payments, so I am told. By the way, a small fee, five Dinar for TV and radio, is included in the electricity bill. No problem with receiving Aljazeera Arabic on the new channel.  The programs in English and Arabic are not identical, the English one has brilliant journalists and received many international rewards for their documentations. I understand that several countries are interested in stopping their crimes becoming public. I cannot judge the quality of Aljazeera Arabic. On the Tunisian radio programs one doesn't receive much informations, the women who work there seem to be mainly occupied with a lot of giggling. Not looking forward to the winter with cold nights and many cats sneezing and coughing, but the really hot summer can also be trying. Not all is bad here of course, I receive a lot of love from my amazing cats and we have met good charming and helpful men and women, nice kids also. Plenty of sunshine, gorgeous flowers, a lovely beach if kept clean, the sand is of top quality. The high amount of moisture in the air doesn't only make clothes damp, it also makes ironing unnecessary, if you put on a piece of clothes with lots of creases, it will all look like well ironed after a short while. When the sun goes down, it quickly gets dark. Bred is very cheap, so nobody should remain hungry. In spite of Diabetes being wide spread and medication not always available, most processed food including fruit juices are sold with a big extra portion of sugar or honey, chocolate. One can't see the amount of sugar or fruit contained in the juices, etc. at first glance, the information is kind of hidden.

Poor Lovely Beauties

"The problem with the world is that the intelligent people are full of doubts, while the stupid ones are full of confidence." Charles Bukowski                                                     A lady from the neighborhood complained cats ruined her door curtains (those that some houses here hang outside in front of the entrance door). Knowing that she doesn't like cats, she would suspect it was them who did the damage. We had a look, 0,80-1m high there are 3 horizontal approx. 20cm long cuts in the heavy curtains. Since cats don't use knives, and it was pretty obvious that a knife had been employed, disturbed kids or hooligans are most likely to blame. They like to take revenge, one wrong word.... and sometimes do damage "just for fun". Just the other day, as we stepped outside, 4 cats in front of the door, a stone the size of a man's head comes flying, thrown by a young boy. Luckily it neither hit us nor a cat. Comment of a watching adult: " They are children."  From those who believe kids don't need to be educated, taught manners and values, I hear that sentence all the time. I advised him that kids can kill and need to be taught how far they can go. Homeless cats and dogs usually have respect, are they easier to teach than children? Feeding cats early in the morning, I view a black and white one approaching from some distance, it must be hungry. But no, he is more interested in cuddling with me. To some it is really important, they must be those who had a family before. Amazing how neat they are, my beautiful guests. They come from all directions, it makes my day to see those amazing little treasures, a few stay in the direct neighborhood and if there are no Kroquetts in the bowl outside, they energetically demand this, good, I like it. I found my treasures in front of my door, there are those that live with us and those who are regular welcomed visitors. I have never seen anywhere so gorgeous cats and dogs as here. Unfortunately folks all too often are too blind to see. Of those three on arrival still blind (thus less then ten days cat babies two died now. I did my best, feeding mummy milk every four hours, but I could not replace their mother, so brutal to tear the babies away from their loving mum. Folks usually when asked where the mother is say she died. They are mixing something up, salmons die after "giving birth", cats normally don't and fed the milk nature provides them with. The third baby was a bit bigger right from the beginning and is getting bigger and bigger, crazy about mummy milk, my sweet little grey Jean Paul. At least he should be okay and hopefully my other babies also. One golden white sweetie, perhaps six weeks old, left in front of my door, gets on well with my other cats but mistrusts me, I will give it time to accept me. A black and white little sweet handful baby seems to be very fit and full of energy, happy to be here, hope she stays healthy. Luckily I received some more mummy milk powder, tinned food and a tube of multiple vitamins paste  for adults and one for kittens from the animal protection organisation Animal Hearts Tunisia. They are very devoted and do a great job, thank heavens. Some products are not on the market here, like that vitamins paste and cats grass also. I just got a pile of packets with grass seeds from Gisella Romdhani, couldn't find those anywhere in Sousse.

. Cats love and need that special grass to get rid of hair they swallow while cleaning themselves. When nothing else is available, indoor cats try flower or green plants as substitute, which of course is not always appreciated by the owner. Anyway, years ago, when I first arrived here there were no Pet Shops, very few veterinarians for all I know and I couldn't find any animal protection organisation, I am happy this has changed. There is so much to be done to save innocent cats and dogs and it is worth it.