Postscript My Lovely Pussycats

Like us cats don't like bitter medicine. In Europe I used to mix it with liver sausage, which is not on the market here, therefore I use soft cheese instead. By the way cats love it. When you have more than one cat you can apply another trick in addition. I also give this cheese to other cats and pretend they are all getting the same. When a cat changes its behaviour it might be sick. Not eating can be an indication that the cat needs a dentist. Gloria had to have 2 teeth removed and I also had her operated. She's given birth to lovely baby cats at least 3 times, the first lot (4) were okay, almost all others died, and she gave milk to 2 orphan little ones. Lately she seemed to be exhausted. She is such a loving amazing little angel. I dare say if all human mothers have as much love for their children as Gloria, we would have a better world. Unlike my cat Amira, Gloria still cares for her older kittens. Amira's daughter Sandy is difficult/disturbed, I put this down to her previously so well caring mum suddenly beating her. (When Amira fell pregnant again she changed, not being aware of her condition we had her operated). Some folks believe we brought cats here from Europe. Take coal to Newport, bring owls to Athens? As a matter of fact I never saw more beautiful cats than here. I only wish folks would appreciate cats more and teach their children to open their eyes to these gorgeous little fur angels. Children who are taught to love will receive love in return.

My lovely Pussycats etc.

Over the years I learned a lot about cats' behaviour. The way their mother treats them influences the kittens, they of cause also have their father's gens but he normally isn't around to educate the little ones. A gentle quite cat usually has kittens just like her, as a rule all looking different (not the same father), but 1 much like mummy. The standard number in Tunisia is 4, I've also seen 6, but 3 already dead at birth. The mother eats the afterbirth, it provides her with the necessary nutrition. Some cats (and dogs) eat their dead little ones, others don't. May be a protection by nature in order not to attract other animals, or because of the same reason as they eat the afterbirth. I must admit it took me a while to get used to the idea. The cats in my house are operated (birth control), this also means no stress while on heat. I had 3 cats about to give birth in front of my entrance door and thus was forced to give them shelter and food (which they already received before) etc. One Persian cat and her 2 babies died the next day. I knew the owners, who shocked me by just not caring, stating: She was old and had many kittens. The vet advised me 7 years is regarded as old here. Many little ones die before they are 2 weeks old, in addition several get run over by cars, which remains a horrible sight for me. When this happens in the neighborhood kids usually inform me, according to their language I live in the cats' house. I can pick up some of the street cats without getting scratched, stroke them, clean their nose and ears but Amira and her daughters (Bijou, Sandy, Soleigh) are different.

They are difficult patients. When I tried to put Soleigh into the transport box she got frightened and attacked me. Her brother, Tiger, wanted to protect me and attacked her to my surprise. By the way, Amira was a great caring mum until she fell pregnant again (she was my first female cat, we didn't know at the time and had her operated), then she started to beat her kittens. (Did she want them to make space for the new generation?) Sandy panics a lot and is not exactly friendly with other cats. In addition she doesn't feel comfortable with my husband, she only trusts and likes me. - Some times folks asked me for a cat. Could they come inside, inspect my cats and choose  one? I haven't got an exhibition of cats. Besides their ideal is a kitten too young to be separated from their mum and it should be checked by the vet and be absolutely flawless. I have 2 cats (Tareqqa and Myriam) with only one eye (Myriam was badly injured after an accident when I took her and got her broken jaw etc. operated), one without a tail, Honey, several had injuries e.g. Lilly a big bump on her head, a wound on her thigh, now healed. Why should an animal be flawless when we are not?  Needless to say some folks are different, they just want a gentle cat. By the way, a 🐈 can help you to relax and while purring reduces her human friend's too high blood pressure if necessary.

Postcript Not all are the same

The Colombian national football team leader is very sad, so a fairy offered him one free wish. "I wish we could be exchanged against the Tunisian team." The fairy asked: "But why, you played better in the world cup." Reply: " Some guys want to kill us because we can't win the cup. In Tunisia it is different, they celebrate you for every goal!" - In a documentary (My Tunisia, Aljazeera English) the father of a young talented football player says: 'We breath football, it is our escape from stress." Yes, all the male kids, teens, etc. are football crazy. They play every spare minute until midnight, at least where I live. There should be a lot of talented players, but unfortunately they lack discipline, team spirit, respect, have their very own rules, ignore the traffic and don't care if they damage the walls of surrounding houses, or cause other damages, they are the kings of the road. Pity there aren't more football fields available for them, school yards etc. could also be used. I've been told these children cause too much damage and leave the place dirty. That could be overcome by having an adult trainer on site who could at the same time teach them what their parents don't, the right behaviour, self-control, fair play and not to leave their markings (rubbish) behind. An easy way to get these kids off the streets where they would otherwise only learn bad language, not to respect anyone, yell, climb and run, how to become a hooligan. For those families  with little income it would mean an alternative to existing football clubs whose fee poor families can't meet. It is not so easy to judge how much income some families have. There are all these expensive new cars, lots of motorbikes, (bicycles are rare unlike Holland, Germany, etc. where citizens in my opinion are more health-orientated), expensive mobile phones, some kids all dressed up like professional players and there are the other cases, the obviously less fortunate. - Though it is already rather hot, I noticed less young men riding their motorbike topless. I guess they are "real men" as such their skin is enough protection in case of an accident, easily caused by a flying football, the interesting driving style of several male and female drivers, multi-tasking driving (phoning, car drivers having exiting conversations, hands up in the air, etc.). - It was discovered that 60,000 university graduates have left the country, in view of 62% unemployment among them quite understandable (other countries call it a brain-drain and get worried) nevertheless, this high rate of unemployment is rather strange (an indication that knowing the right persons and being able and willing to pay for being selected as "the best candidate" counts more than qualification?) and must be a real discouragement for those still attending school. Why bother if education gets you nowhere? I keep hearing  we must change our mentality. I would put it differently, we must educate the ignorant, make them see the beauty of this country and their responsibility towards their children (if you neglect them, they owe you nothing when you are old and needy), the importance of protecting nature, empathy with animals that are also Allah's creation. If you want to be respected you must act in a civilised way, an elbow society is not attractive for anyone. It is nice to have money, but it isn't everything. Friendly words, a smile can go a long way. Do you really need to get paid for every thing you do?

Not All are the Same

"You can't inject new ideas into a man's head by chopping it off, neither will you infuse a new spirit into his heart by piercing it with a dagger" (Martin Luther King). In Tunisia there is a lot of energy, shops are open 7 days a week, folks are very helpful if you e.g. are looking  for a certain building, street, etc.; you are often friendly greeted and asked how are you. But there is also a lot of sorrow and pain. Mainly elderly persons feeling depressed. It is so obvious, the way they walk, bend, head down. Disappointed, their dreams crushed. The everybody for themselves attitude, me first (Donald Trump style on a very much smaller scale). I may be mistaken, but this seems to have spread after the revolution. I know an old-age pensioner from Europe who settled in Sousse (outskirts). She learnt to love Tunisia during her holidays. The climate does her bones good. But the poor woman has the misfortune to find one Mafia landlord after the other, absolutely shameless and brazen. One worse than the other. While one declared when she dies he will keep everything she possesses and through psychological terror tried to speed up the progress, the next one tried to rob her straight away. When she discovered that he can't be trusted and moved out after 8 days, he prevented her from taking her furniture, plants, etc. with her, barefaced lie she gave it all to him (to a person she doesn't know,

whom she doesn't trust, why should she wish to start from scratch again, at her age?). They are shamelessly taking advantage of her being just an elderly defenceless foreign woman. You can view more expensive new cars on the  street than in Europe (as far as I can judge), yet this is a poor country and there are a lot of people also, in particular in the neglected south, that have problems making ends meet. They badly need jobs that don't ruin their health. Environment protection is a field where nothing much has been done so far. There every invested Dinar would pay off in many ways. Not only would jobs here allow many to earn a living, but also provide citizens with clean air, water, beeches and soil. In addition make Tunisia more attractive to tourists again and lead to further income and a flourishing tourist trade. May be even that famous beautiful North African smile would return again. For the presence, though, I feel it is high time to teach some parents how to raise their children, that is is a crime to neglect them, that a civilised society can not tolerate the abuse of animals. Children cruel to animals don't grow up and become respectable adults, caring parents, but often end up in prison. I repeatedly viewed children and teens throwing stones at cats hiding beneath cars (when a longer parked car finally drives off, you can see lots of such stones), even right in front of my entrance door, kicking, beating or toddlers attempting to spit at them. This not normal child's behaviour and it is hardly surprising cats watch the children here like enemies, which they are often after all. Disturbed neglected kids taking out their frustration on defenceless animals. In Germany folks called the police because a kitten climbed from underneath inside a car's engine space. The police saved the kitten as they do on other occasions when an animal needs help. If I would call them here for such a reason they would think I am not right in my head and refuse to listen to me! - Many kittens die very young in Tunisia, Alice gave birth to 6 (3 alive, 3 already dead) on 28.5.18, by end of  June only 1 is still alive, the adopted one also died. On 01.07 she tried for the 3rd time to steal one of Gloria's baby cats. I caught her just in time. Gloria (great mum and so beautiful) had 5 kittens on 21.06.18 of which now on the 01.07.18 only 2 are still alive, but she also looks after 2 kittens from a previous pregnancy and 2 adopted ones. Bella, a 3-coloured lovely gentle street cat (had her operated for "family planning") accompanied me the other day when I went shopping for cats' food. We walked together along a few roads. When we reached a busy street, she waited at the other side while I crossed the road -smart Bella - and when I left the shop returned with me to my house. Pity I can't offer her shelter inside my house, my cats won't accept another fur inhabitant. I'd wish I had a farm to provide for more homeless cats. I've given names to many cats, including several street cats. They all know their name and respect me, like I respect them. This is what Tunisia needs, respect, education, some parents made to understand their responsibility for their children, that it is a crime to neglect them as well as abuse animals. It is a fact that kids abusing animals seldom become good citizens one day, or caring sensitive parents. Instead of this what-is-in-for-me attitude, grab what you can, envy, all those bad feelings, we need more folks with developed interpersonal skills, people who understand they belong to a community and that it is also up to them to strengthen this democracy. Just imagine, women and children of one area meeting from time to time in order to clean the streets (not everywhere necessary) and various corners of rubbish, it would also give them a feeling for the requirement not to drop their wrappings, etc. anywhere. It is already forbidden, but all too often ignored. Further, men meeting in order to do what repair and decoration work they can to needy schools. Utopian idea? It has been practised in Germany. Kids can study in pleasant surroundings, instead of loitering on the streets, not knowing how to spend their countless spare time. What they learn on the street I encounter every day, school could teach them values, art technics, provide them with chances in life, and last not least to respect nature and love their country.

Postscipt Different Angle

"An eye-for-an-eye and tooth-for-a tooth would lead to a world of the blind and toothless" (Mahatma Gandhi? His biographer Louis Fisher?) It appears to be a wide-spread fashion to take revenge, not necessarily on the person who caused the anger but on anybody available. (Politicians do, simple folks do) Some feel society owns them something, if others are better off, no matter what, they don't deserve it. We've been receiving stones for more than 5 years, occasionally get hit by a ball, better me than one of my cats. Twice a car touched a kitten and kids informed me it is dead, but luckily the little one survived, like yesterday, received an eye injury but otherwise appears to be okay. I was pleased to hear children enquiring whether the kitten died and them praising Allah when I told them no. Thank heaven not all are without empathy. - A taxi driver said he had a young female passenger in his car, directing him to various streets and when the meter read 12 Dinar, declared she can't pay. The driver replied he'll take her to the police. So she advised him in that case she'll claim he touched her thighs. The poor driver then didn't dare to do anything, even though that is a lot of money for him. A similar case happened in Germany, only there the taxi driver didn't allow her to be successful with her dirty trick (success convinces people to continue, why should they change if it works?). The reaction from the police was a real surprise for the taxi driver. They informed him that the young woman is already registered for that trick, she uses it frequently. - My special cat guest, Alice, she gave milk to the adopted black kitten, but it also died, like the other 3 siblings. I picked up one of Alice's remaining kittens to check whether it's male or female, so Alice arrived quite cool, grabbed her babe by the neck (cats' style), took it away from me, thus making it quite clear: Her kitten, not mine!!! Pity I couldn't record it on video. Next day the 3-coloured kitten      died, now Alice only has 1 baby left, looking just like mum. Gloria is about to give birth again, nevertheless she still feeds and looks after her other, older kids. So different from Amira, who loved her babies and started to hit her children when she fell pregnant again. Even though we had her operated, she still hits Sandy, Soleigh and Bijou and appears to hate her gentle son (fears he sees her as the attractive female rather than the mother). As a result this family is difficult, Sandy likes nobody, neither human or animal, only me, her brother Tiger likes to sleep puring next to me (quite relaxing). Taking any of them to the vet is a big nerve-racking job and means quite a few scratches for me. I then joke my husband is a prickly person. We can learn from cats that a loving, gentle mother is likely to have kids just like her, while beating and yelling makes children aggressive, impulsive and vindictive. I saw on TV demonstrating folks in USA holding a sign saying: Only monsters put children in cages. A message for Trump and his followers. Very sad, that man has no moral, no empathy, as they say in Germany, he can walk over corpes without batting an eyelid. For all I know his parents were not the gentle caring type. Let us make our children see, enjoy and protect the beauty of nature, for a better world.

A Different Angle

A man talking to his friend: "You know what, my wife talks a lot with herself." The friend:"This really surprises me, she doesn't seem to be the kind." The first man: "Well actually she believes I am listening, but I am not, thus she's speaking to herself......"                        Information (INC) on my mobile phone, if you buy a dangerous toy you can injure a child. I am sure quite a few folks never think that far. While e.g. in Europe many parents worry what can happen to their children, in particular while they are playing outside, folks are much more relaxed here. The children know how to scream and run, in addition they are with their gang, enough protection, even for the very young until after midnight!  At the crossroads here up to 20 or even 25 kids arrive daily, dressed with football t-shirts, shorts and shoes. It looks very professional, only there is no football/ sports field and the surrounding houses bear the markings of all those balls and there would be many broken windows in addition, if they weren't protected with iron bars. Perhaps a sign is required advising:  "Crossroads, Not Sports' Field." - The town authorities (Belladia) decided to upgrade and clean the outside area around the lycee (grammar school) opposite the mosque, where various rubbish used to be dumped by thoughtless kids and adults. Thanks to Belladia it soon looked neat with a narrow gardening strip, different kinds of plants, benches, new slap pavement. The other day I viewed a middle aged man of considerable proportions walking his large roundish long fur dog on a leash. He guided his dog to what this mentally under-illuminated poor man mistook to be designated as dogs' toilet, the garden strip. He walked his dog all along this narrow garden, in order to allow him to do his urinating, leave his excrement, do his digging, etc., perhaps another sign is required here, advising: " Not a public dogs' toilet. " And: "Please don't decorate with your litter", as some kids/adults already dropped their rubbish  between the plants and I guess in order to gain more space for this, pulled out or bend a few, and like that it looks more like home to them. Talking about the environment, my neighbour's son keeps on and on trying to repair his motorbike (his garage is adjacent to our sitting room.) at 23.00 hrs.  The result of his attempts: stinking black clouds, burning my eyes, extreme noise, the floor shaking, feels like a slight earth quake. We are forced to keep our windows shut. Life never gets boring among the ignorant, you never know what they come up with next. I guess one can't have environment protection without employing folks who control and monitor that laws and regulations are not being ignored. If you want your town, village or community to be clean and an enjoyful sight, you need folks, some  with and some without payment motivated to protect the area. And it is very important to educate and educate, teach the ignorant, make them see and stop them having a blinkered attitude. Tunisia is lucky, there is such a large potential, many citizens with university diplomas, several even from poor and/or uneducated families managed to study. Yet 62 % are unemployed, very strange. Is there too much intelligence? Not the impression one actually gets. It does of course depend on where you are and whom you meet. Eid holiday, end of Ramadan, 4 o'clock in the morning, my husband asks some boys not to be so noisy, they retaliate with throwing stones. Later on a small boy, nicely dressed up for the holiday, spits at a cat in front of my entrance door and throws stones. I happen to view another one (approx. 6 years old) kicking a cat, just because he is stupid and bored or diturbed? Nicely dressed up women and young girls proudly walk past -is this the spirit of Eid? - A sick, nervous woman in the neighbourhood, fed up with having fiercely kicked balls damaging the walls of her house (our common problem here), getting angry, telling hooligans to disappear from this area. They retaliate by pulling down her door curtains, writing an insult with blue paint on her wall, smashing the large stones she had fixed on her pavement to prevent cars from parking there. I heard folk say, whatever you do, always expect their retaliation, one "wrong" word can already be enough. At the bank, I try to explain to a middle-aged man that since he arrived later than me he should queue up behind me. He looked so surprised, then laughed and went to another counter, expecting to be served first. (To be fair, some guys have excellent manners, some kids actually know respect, are educated with good manners.) Plenty of work for intelligent unemployed persons, just a question of financing? Retraining courses for lets say teachers to qualify them as social street workers should be more rewarding than having frustrated academics unemployed or taking on any odd job. In addition those kids growing up without rules, knowing no borders, no respect for anyone, abusing animals without empathy, will one day grow up and if nothing is done will most certainly not become "an asset" to society. Prisons are expensive and rarely make inmates better. Money is better spend on professionals qualified to interfere in good time, on anti-aggression training, educating the ignorant, teaching basic values, etc. We don't need an elbow society. Don't allow greedy, lazy, ignorant and corrupt folks to dominate. Tunisia is beautiful, whether it's a good place for living or not depends on the citizens.

My Little Treasures

Whenever I hear a dog bark, I hope that his bark is bigger than his bite. Most dogs on the street can be easily chased away, thank heaven. Cats carefully watch them, as they do with bored disturbed children of various ages. Just now I caught three 5 year old kids attempting to pour the drinking water (I leave outside for cats) over a cat taking shelter underneath my yucca plant behind my metal fencing. Yesterday I heard tiny kittens screaming from a garbage container, I lifted a bit of garbage but couldn't see them, too much rubbish of various kind had already been dumped on them. Treating the tiny ones just like vermin is what the ignorant, uneducated regard as civilisation. I fear they often also kill the mother, "capital punishment" for falling pregnant. Later on I discovered a lovely big, mainly white cat in an open cardboard box. She had an apricot sized wound on the back and was highly pregnant, still alive but I could see from her eyes that she's dying. So I just stroked her, I could feel her babies. She didn't make a sound and shortly later died. The wound (and her death) may be inflicted by a thrown stone, a beating or an accident. Everything is possible here, lack of empathy a big problem and I would like to stress such behaviour is not in line with the Quran. Not yet giving up hope, I often shout "Haram" (meaning the Quran forbids you such action). Alice, a golden coloured street cat and regular visitor to my Cats' Table, for several days stayed very close to my entrance door and on various occasions tried to get  inside (my cat community doesn't like it). I could see that Alice is pregnant and looking for a save shelter. I know the panting sound when a cat is just about to give birth, (the first time it was lovely Amira, our house cat, then glorious Gloria - also in front of our entrance door) and quickly took her inside. It was just in time. Alice gave birth to 3 sweet alive kittens and another 3 arrived already dead. She is such a caring Mum, one hardly notices this little family. The babies are happy, not screaming (unlike those taken away from their cat mother), my husband even asked whether Alice's kittens are still alive. I keep her in a small corridor, away from my other cats as the majority consider our community to be already big enough. My husband is of the same opinion. Anyhow, Alice is a quite gentle cat and her babies are just like her, a happy little family. As always one kitten looks like her/his mum and the others like their fathers. Cats manage to give birth to (usually 4) kittens of different tomcats on the same day. Due to a generally week immune system and other problems cats don't get old here, most die during the first 3 months of their life, several more during the following few months. I've seen so many dead: run over by a car, hit by stones, killed by a dog, bad teeth and gum making it impossible to eat, bad cold preventing the cat from smelling the food (what they can't smell they won't ear), fatal injuries and prior to this lots of pain caused by airgun bullets (in the neighbourhood), malnutrition, etc.. Lately I noticed several of my regular guests at my cats' table suddenly disappeared. It is highly unlikely they found another place to provide them with daily food or that they found a family, certainly not several at the same time. Sudden death by nature or poison? Both is possible. Among those who disappeared without a trace are Snowflake, a lovely cat with long white fur (wasn't well but recovering, may have had a home and hopefully returned there) and Tony, a big gentle tomcat that allowed me to clean his nose and eyes - cats actually hate that (some of my in-door cats react as if I wanted to kill them, less easy), he just started to eat again and I was happy to see this. Folks keep bringing me tiny kittens, but I unfortunately can' t cope with any more. Sad, at least these people try to save kittens' life, but I'd wish they would employ a vet and get cats operated in order to reduce the number of unwanted kittens. I had quite a few operated, yet I find so many kittens in front of my door or placed underneath the Yucca plants next to my entrance door. The last ones I accepted, were 3 grey and 1 black baby kittens, a few days old, had just started to open their eye, the mother is dead I am told (pity there is rarely a father in sight to take over, but I know of at least one case in Germany). I bottle fed them with 1/3 cow milk and 2/3 mineral water. Without the mother or at least a foster cat their chances are not very good. One died after 7 days, it looked peaceful. One of the others I added to the 3 that Alice already had of her own. She accepted it and I hoped the little family won't be too disturbed, as this little one belonged to these 4 that were accustomed to doing a lot of screaming, missing their mum. (With my really bad headache the last 2 days it was rather trying.) Anyhow, a bit more screaming and now all are happy. I wonder what Alice thought, when the additional kitten arrived (can't she count up to 4?), I think she just felt sympathy for the poor little darling. We can really learn from cats. Bijou has gone hiding in our house. We know her teeth are bad, the vet had to pull out 4, the gum causes pain, sometimes she screams suddenly, even without eating anything. What was intended as protection by mother nature (sick/week animals make easy prey, better to hide) is now a disadvantage, we can't take her to the dentist-vet when we don't know where to find her and then it won't be easy as she is frightened. Nevertheless I nearly managed but then she happened to put one of her claws into a vein of my hand, just slightly, but it was enough to get me bleeding. As son as I noticed this I quickly stopped the bleeding by simply applying pressure with a finger. Just as well we are provided with 2 hands. For the next attempt I shall wear oven gloves. Hope I'll find my little treasure soon, the poor little darling urgently needs help. - On the morning of the next day I found one of my tiny grey kittens dead, at least it looked as if it was sleeping, a peaceful death, of the remaining 2 one was with Alice for a couple of days meanwhile, well adopted, I tried to add the other one to Gloria's. But she is pregnant again, she was so fast, I've been thinking of getting her operated....... she was faster. Anyhow, she wasn't interested this time to feed her milk to yet another cat's baby and this sweet baby died also. All my attempts were in vain, except for one, they were just too young to survive without a cat mum. - I found a kitten that looked as if someone had thrown a bucket full of washing water over it (for the 2. time meanwhile, it definitely wasn't raining, besides it looked like dirt water)  cleaned and dried its fur, cleaned its nose and eyes. I wonder why so many kittens suffer from blocked noses and "sealed" eyes here. In addition they often also have pus in their eyes. Never encountered this in Europe. Strange. A few hours earlier I discovered a tiny kitten on top of an approx. 3 m high wall. Under no circumstances can it have got up there all by itself. Some bored stupid youngster must have placed it there, next to a small flat roof, without food or water. I asked a tall young lad from the neighbourhood to help me and he managed to get it down with the aid of a stool. The little one was so thirsty! Next I cleaned its nose and eyes, the usual procedure. Poor little darlings, they also have but one life. I hope the sun will put us all in a better mood and allow us to enjoy the beauty of this country. We need solidarity.