Reality and Dreams

 "One who makes himself a worm can not complain afterwards if people step on him. "   Emanuel Kant                                                                              More cats arrived this morning for breakfast (sausage and croquettes), some are new and most probably have been kicked out lately. I can notice this, they allow me to stroke them and enjoy it, and in addition even let me clean their blocked nose (which feline normally hate). Occasionally one of my old customers arrives late and complains if their is no salami (the local name for animals sausage) left. I compare them to the kids that want Bonbons when they see me. Having many cats also means having to put up with sudden deaths. Today my sweet fur boy Allan suddenly passed away, went over the rainbow. I found him near a wild rubbish dump, a Burmese elderly looking tomcat, eight years old according to the vet. He was in a poor stage of health, skinny, with lice, a bit dirty. I wondered how long the poor treasure had been living rough. Most probably once living in a family, Burmese cats are highly in fashion in Tunisia, but this doesn't protect them against getting abused. Our other Burmese a young man tried to sell, he handed me the beauty. I declared that I never buy a cat and attempted to give her back to him. Well, she refused and clamped on to me, this mend I had to keep her, poor little darling Minusa. Returning to Allan, I wanted to get him washed, ready for a new life, but couldn't find an organisation that washes cats, only dogs. So the vet did this and gave a throrouh check. He suffered from diarrhea which stopped, following a few overnight stays at the vet's. We managed to provide him with a loving home, but unfortunately only for three months. Allan loved in particular his tinned food, a bit expensive, but I was hoping  that he might put on a bit of weight and make up for his dire days on the street. The darling was very quiet and modest. Some times he sat in front of me looking at me very intensively and I wondered what was going on in his little head. Poor little treasure, sadly one or two of my other cats sometimes attacked him. Bleeding scratches on his face, iching while healing made him scratch himself. After Betadine I carefully applied liquid plaster, this solved the problem. I miss my sweety, he left us much too quickly. Do the folks who throw cats and dogs out on the street know what they are doing to them? They are loyal and miss their family, not just the food and a roof over the head! When I touch them at this time of year, nights are very cold, their fur feels as if they spend the night in a freezer, nose blocked, a poor sight all to often. I wish that it is true what some believe, cats (and dogs etc.) are standing at the entrance to paradise and permission to enter depends on their statements, how those humans treated them. Some folks say they have to go out and work, can't leave the cat indoors on its own all day. Well, an adult feline sleeps a lot, unlike a dog the cat normally causes no problem in the house, we practiced it, perfectly okay, kitten are different though, most people prefer to take a kitten, not knowing how wonderful adult cats can be, simply taken from the street! But folks want perfect cats, examined by vets, vaccinated, etc. You can have this in Europe but it comes at a price! Not at all cheap, even if you take an eldely cat from an animal protection organisation and vets are also much more expensive. By the way, those organisations check first whether the new owner is suitable. Here is a different world, folks think they can test pets and return them or throw them out in a cardboard box, simply in a plastic bag or just out off a car, maybe in front of a house of persons who are already giving shelter to several, not caring if these animal loving persons have already reached their limit. As a reason for not letting their cat spayed and neutered is often stated that it would be Haram, meaning the Quran doesn't allow it. A good excuse for not spending the money, okay, some actually believe it. Not haram though to abuse cats and dogs? Anyhow it is cruel to put pets and their little ones out on the street and in many countries such behaviour is against the law. Hopefully Tunisia will one day in the near future introduce animal protection laws. It would also have a positive effect on our society. Animals can help to teach kits empathy and responsibility. The sad joke nowadays, parents complain about not seeing their children much, they are out all day on the street or sitting in front of computers. Parents don't know how to bring up their siblings? - The system of the household waste collection is a riddle, it sems to be daily and then it isn't. Rumor has it that the employees only receive half  their wages now and therefore only work every second day, or they are striking for higher wages. By the way, someone said Europeans have the clock and Arabs the time. 

Many Cats, One Dog and No Boredom

 "Rules for happiness: something to do, someone to love, something to hope for." Emanuel Kant.                                      An aeroplane was flying over our house, the first one that our puppy Djego ever heard in his life. He decided to chase it away. You know what? It worked. He barked very loud and the aeroplane disappeared! Unfortunately Djego also tries to chase some of my cats away. Since they were here before him, I can't very well allow him to do this. I want him to make them his friends and protect my little fur angels. Seems to be a long way yet. I am told it can be done with a lot of patience., besides, as my husband put it, we can't put him out, he would only return..... All not easy, bred prices have gone up slighly (50 Millimes), other items much more, with high unemployment not ideal,  many are grumbling, to say the least. Demonstrations in Tunis ended with folks dying, getting injured, arrested, several French journalists beaten by policemen , cars burned, shop windows smashed. Hope it doesn't get much worse. Another revolution can't be the solution. We need solidarity not greed, envy, revange, theft, etc we have too much of that and poverty. A poor boy from the neighborhood, not equipped for cold days, surprised us after we bought him a jacket and a pair of shoes. He declared that he wants to save this to wear at invitations to celebrations. Poor boy, in the meantime freeze? I got him some more warm clothes and hope he will be okay now. Waiting for warmer days, our cats are sneezing, they love the sun. Sandy and her brother Tiger are eight years old now and fairly fit, at an age when most feline in Tunisia are passing away. Guess it helped my little angels that they were brought up mainly with mineral water to drink, which  unfortunately doesn't apply to our other cats. Looking at Allan, our Siames tomcat, saved not long ago from the street, he looks a real old boy, yet also only eight years old. In Europe it is not rare that cats live up to 20 years or more. Water from a natural source is sold in plastic small containers, fairly cheap. We will use this  now for our big fur family and hope it is better for their kidneys  than the tapped water here.  In Sousse the household waste (at least in the area where we live) gets lately only every second day collected. If anyone asks you for his coffee - he means should receive a bonus from you for doing his job. Occasionally rubbish collectors try this, their income isn't bad for Tunisia, but of course their job isn't pleasant. The water gets cut off at around 18.00 hrs in order to protect the pipes as they are not insulated, turned on again at 5 or 6 a. m. From time to time some articles, food, medcine and others nonessential ones are not available. Usually not a great problem, but it of course depends on your income and where you live. With Corona and all the involved restrictions less Tunisians can send money home from other countries, it effects of course the economy. With less money around the animals suffer too, less food for strays, more kicked out, folks wondering whether we

shouldn't provide for the poor and forget the cats and dogs. Well, it turned out that those who love animals are more likely to help poor people as well, if they can. When I suggest to ask folks for aid who drive big expensive cars, I am told that this request would be in vain.