Postscript Diamonds and Perls among the Rubble

 "The problem with the world is that the intelligent people are full of doubts, while the stupid ones are full of convidence." Charles Bukowski.                                                         Wondering where the diamonds and perls are? For me they are the gorgeous cats and dogs indoors and outdoors, too many forced to live as strays, some all their life, others innocently lost their home through folks too blind to see and appreciate their true values. What do I love most of all in Tunisia? It is not the beautiful beech (if kept clean), not the sea, the architecture, the food, etc., it is those amazing cats. We bought a red collar for Leica, a gentle bitch, I call her a half stray, she has human friends and and creates no problems. Cats know she's okay, they even try to steal her food. Now someone without shame has stolen her collar, it was mend to protect her. Isn't it enough to stupidly throw stones at innocent pets? Living among the ignorant can be so trying. Our puppy, Djego, still gets his panic attacks, less often now, thank heavens. With his reaction to noise, maybe headphones would a solution? Just dreaming, my husband uses these when it gets too much. He by the way, informed me that beautiful Bella (3 colours), Fleur (dark colour with blond streaks) and Minus (white tomcat) are waiting outside, in front of our house, for a late breakfast.... They sometimes oversleep the early one. I am prowd of my husband's reaction, no complaint that my expenditures for pets should and could be reduced, after all, a Cat's Table in addition.... In the kitchen Adele tried to steal a piece of raw meat. I took it away from her and offered it to Djego. Big surprise, he doesn't want to eat raw meat.  Fishmongers sometimes donate a sardine or two to stray cats. While several eat the raw fish more or less completely, others won't touch it at all. I have seen cats even picking out, as uneatable, the tiny, soft bones of tinned  sardines. Like humans, all are not the same. Black and grey Alien had problems eating, smell from the mouth, which usually indicates teeth or gum problems. It turned out that 5 teeth were black and had to be removed. Cats' visit to the dentist vet is all too often drastic, though they seem to recover quickly and Alien is enjoying his Croquettes again, his favorite food. Lately kittens are especially endangered when a virus spreads. Their immune system is frequently too weak to cope. Poor little treasures. I wish more folks here would understand the babies need to live, be fed and trained by the mummy cat for at least 6 weeks, for dogs it is 3 months. By the way, a woman would need to be pregnant for 18 to 21 months before giving birth to a baby as well developed as a chimpanzee at that stage. When we discovered Djego, close to death, he was only 2,5 months old. I don't know how long he had already been forced to look after himsef. He has such beautiful brown eyes, when looks in my eyes, it is so difficult not to melt. Nevertheless, we are forced to look for a new home for him. Living among so many cats, several not respecting him, is very stressful for our sweat darling.