Postscript Life ain't Easy

 "You will never reach your destination if you throw stones at every dog that 

barks." Ubuntu African Proverb.    "Animals only look with their eyes, we humans look with madness." Wajdi Monawad.                                                 Those who won't get their cat spayed and neutered (some believe it's Haram, others can't afford the operation or prefer to spend their money on other items, e. g. cigarettes, etc), all too often think they are solving the problem of unwanted kittens by placing them in front of houses of animal friendly folks. There comes the point when we are exhausted, no longer enough money, energy, capacity and in addition not getting younger, which also means health issues, having to spend regularly more money on doctors and medicine for humans. If I neglect my health in order to save money for all those poor cats,(I already live modestly) can that be a solution? I am not the only one and keep hearing from folks engaged to protect animals that people here are so inconsiderate and selfish, they just don't care if we say, please no more, it's not possible. Very depressing, all those poor innocent souls. I better live forever more..... no time and excuse for getting old. My little darlings look at me with eyes full of trust - unless I want to clean their lovely eyes (of pus, dirt), little running noses, cute ears effected with mites (that black staff, can even destroy ears), give them their medication (may be crushed tablet mixed under soft cheese). They are so clever, if I hide a tablet in a piece of salami, they spit it out, even a tiny piece. Gorgeous little Celine, eyes wide open, no teeth yet, thus lives on "mummy milk" only, is one week with us now. Kids found her in a cardboard box among the garbage, they begged me to save her. She has white, orange and black fur, 3 colours, means she's female. Celine enjoys her kitten milk (59 Dinar - her mother had that for her for free!), but she still screams a lot. My husband wondered whether this is perhaps the reason why she was thrown outside, I tell him no, Celine screams because she misses her mother and her brothers and sisters too, normally she would cuddle with them. I try to make up for this, let her suck my fingers, but it is insufficient, poor darling. My other cats and the 3 maybe 2-3 months old kittens show only limited interest. It ain't easy. Ricardo requires a vet dentist, not very cheap as it means anesthesia as well. When all my cats are spayed and neutered there are always new unplanned arrivals, more expenditures in the future. The operation of the male is simpliar, approx. half the price of that for the female, but it all adds up. All my fur family members are fine afterwards (except for a short time on the day of the operation). When I had my first cat operated and told the vet I am not quite happy to do this to him, he replied: It is okay, he is lucky, no problems with the ladies..... (and no need to mark his area with urine, run out to chase females, endanger himself, get his face slapped if he forgets the love bite afterwards). - For unknown reasons kids in North Africa can generally decide when it's time to go to bed, (so it's after midnight) a choice usually European children haven't got, hours are fixed. Scientists say that       9-12 hrs sleep are necessary for 6-12 year old kids. Less sleep effects the brain: memory, intelligence, well being, insufficient sleep leads to less grey matter or smaller volume in certain areas of the brain responsible for attention, memory, inhibition control and causes long term harm. In addition it is important to sleep during the normally dark hrs. In my opinion we have too much of artificial lights. We have to draw the certains so that we can sleep in a dark bedroom. There is quite a potential here to save energy. In view of the heat, more and more hot days, it would be great to have plenty of

trees planted. There is a small town in Germany where authorities decided to act on expert advice, how to cool down a town, they give away various types of suitable trees to interested citizens. Actually, I have done "my bit", I planted a tree a few years ago, it is growing well and provides shadow to pedestrians and animals.