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.

Post Sript My Domesticated Royal Family and other Animals

"We must learn to live together or perish together as fools." Martin Luther King.                                                                  Good news, sweet Mary (one eye blind) returned this evening, this made my day, she looks fine, but not in a good mood at first, enjoyed her food though. I have known for a while that dogs eat some of the food that I put outside for homeless cats. The croquettes are especially created for cats (their requirements differ from those of dogs, Taurine dogs don't need but is very important for cats e.g.) and can cause diarrhea in dogs. There is so called Salami on the market either just for cats or dogs or for both. Not sure about the quality, vets don't recommend them and prices are going up, for example Carrefour raised it by 17% for the sausage for cats. Carrefour suffered attacks, severe damage and looting on several shops, I may add for their defence. They employ many polite, helpful, not well paid members of staff, some worked in hotels in the past and speak a bit of French, English and even German. Generally speaking prices are going up, in view of many having less money to spend not a good idea. The president asked to reduce prices if possible, in particular for medication, fruit and vegetables and Banks to lower their interest rate to help the country. It would also be helpful in my view if folks here would stop watering the streets (nothing will grow there) since we hardly had any rain for quite a while. Cleaning with less water is possible! While people all over the world talk about climate change, how to reduce harmful substances, exhaust gases, etc. Tunisian people continue to let their car engines ran idle (do they love the sound and smell?), not to forget those black clouds from tuned up loud motorbikes. Those days when guys were proud to possess a bike are gone, occasionally one can see a kid ride a bike (without light) but also a motorbike! We could do with less heat, my fur family lies out flat on the floor and other places. I try to provide them with the service they need so they don't need to complain. It keeps me occupied and on my feet even when I don't feel well. As long as they are alive and reasonable healthy it's worth it.

My Domesticated Royal Family and Other Animals

 "If you tremble with indignation at every injustice than you are a friend of mine." Ernesto Che Guevara.                            Early in the morning homeless cats arrive from all directions to attend my "cats' table". After a while I got to know them, got attached and worry when one or two don't turn up. For five days I am missing sweet Mary. She's spayed and neutered, usually stays near my house and sleeps indoors. Some time in the past she had four babies that she took to an unknown place when a celebration took place with those extreme loudspeakers, suitable for a stadium.  This time we had three days of celebration, life music again loud enough for the deaf to hear. Strange custom. If that drove her away, why doesn't she come for breakfast, early in the morning when most folks are still sleeping and it's pleasantly quiet? I fear that she may have been killed by one of many cars parked in double rows during the party. Sweet gentle Mary, she loved to cuddle, I haven't quite given up hope yet that she might return. Two boys proudly declared that I feed their cat. I asked them to take their cat inside at night in order to be safe. One elderly neighbor passing by during feeding time was surprised to see a big gentle golden coloured tomcat among my guests and informed me that he was his cat, now the mother and brother are still living with him. Not all so called stray cats have always been homeless, it is noticable, they usually love to cuddle. Unfortunately children looming the streets tend to have here a disturbed attitude towards animals, they regard it as normal to throw stones at cats and dogs or use a stick. Apart from my husband and me not many adults seeing this say anything. "They are children", one of the most stupid sentences I hear, meaning kids don't need to be told the difference between right and wrong. It is natural for children to find out how far they can go, where the limit is, if you let them grow up wild, they will believe that their parents don't care for them and life with rules and regulations as adults will be very trying for those concerned. I watched a little boy, approx. 2-3 years old attempting to throw stones at a black  dog and wanting to hit him as well with a stick. I ran to him and told him to stop it, it is HARAM (forbidden, against the Quran). An elderly man watching, family member sitting on a chair in front of the house, saying nothing. I advised him that he must teach the child that such action is not okay, please teach your child culture, empathy, not to attack the dog. By the way I know the gentle black dog that belongs to a boy from the same street. Ignorant folks allowing kids to attack innocent well behaved dogs (and cats), youngsters who think it's funny - never heard an animal laugh about such twisted sense of humor - don't understand why may be one day animals try to threaten them and run away. As a rule I can say that even stray cats and dogs are better behaved than those neglected children. If parents are too lazy, sick or ignorant to teach their kids empathy and basic values, then schools should do so, as well as not to drop rubbish wherever they are. Watching adults do this they think it's normal. I tell them that they lost something or that the road is not their rubbish dump. So far no angry reaction. I can't help it, I studied educational sciences. - My amazing tomcat Malek, golden white coloured, blind on one eye, living with us for more than three years, once very sick with water in his lungs, is my highlight in the morning, never have breakfast without my boy on my lap, telling me that he loves me as I am, while giving me a massage. He has sympathy with orphan new family additions and allows them to pretend that he is his mother, even though he has no milk. Fortunately there is milk powder for baby cats on the market (in the past when it was not available many babies died without their mothers), not cheap and therefore I am very grateful for donations from Gisella Romdhani and Chayma Labidi, dedicated to save street cats and dogs though their animal protection organisation, Animal Hearts Tunisia, great women! But actually I don't find it always easy to feed the babies every four hours and they miss their mother, so they cry more than they usually would. I feel exhausted. My big four legged family finds it more easy to accept kittens than adults as new members. (But for heaven's sake no more please). Coming from different families they like to stick together and sometimes find an adult cat to cuddle with. Like humans some adults don't like each other though, some love my husband more than me (he is proud of that), others prefer my company. We sometimes joke who would have which cat in case of a divorce.

PostScript The Good, the Bad and the Ignorant

 "If freedom of speech is taken away, the dump and silent we may be led, like sheep to the slaughter." George Washington

A lot is happening in Tunisia at present, the parliament has been suspended for thirty days (may be extended), the finance and justice minister, Prime minister and other high ranking politicians, including Ennahdha representatives are dismissed. The president declared his actions are all in line with the Constitution (Paragraph 80) and that 460 persons have stollen 13,5 Billion Dinar, equals 4,8 Billion Euro, of state money. Shocking news, in particular if one bears in mind that a big Tunisian state bank robbery by Ben Ali and his wife took place ten years ago, a poisoned fare-well present to the country. These greedy, corrupt, folks have no shame, no conscience. It is extremely hot, in particular in the South, where we have areas with no running water, bad infrastructure and poor people. Such news must be like a slap in the face for them. Many are happy with the president's actions. Some fear we could be heading towards a development like Agypt, since Aljazeera's offices have been stormed in Tunis by plain clothes police officers, no previous warnings, no warrants and other actions have also been taken against some journalists and various media. Aljazeera English made a lot of international prizes winning documentations about events that several states would love to hide underneath the carpet, therefore it is not surprising that countries like Israel, Saudi Arabia, USA and UAE attempted to destroy their offices or at least prevent them from continuing their investive works. Under Ben Ali's dictatorship freedom of expression didn't exist. People were frightening to talk about politics, one had to be even careful what one said in a taxi, it was forbidden to question tourists. - In the neighborhood three men tried to steal a poor man's motorbike, which he needs to get to work whenever there is some. Another neighbor taking his German Shepard for a walk had his dog suddenly pulling towards a house further down the road. When the dog owner discovered the burglars, he let his dog loose. The thieves got a fright and ran away, leaving behind their rope. We owe a lot to dogs, they often save lives (rescue dogs, police dogs, drugs sniffing dogs, Sheepdogs, guide dogs, etc) and yet, for unknown reasons, some ignorant people hate and want to kill them. This morning a German Shepherd arrived opposite my house, around cats' feeding time. I have seen him a few times before. The cats know that he is harmless and continued to eat. Two women appeared, I could see that they are frightened of dogs. One picked up a stone. I managed to prevent her from throwing it at the dog and shouted that he is gentle, there is absolutely no need to use a stone or stick. I believe that German Shepherd has an owner, he looks well kept and has good manners. I wish I could say the same about the kids in the neighborhood. The social behavior of African wild dogs, 6000 still exist in Botswana, is very interesting and they could be a model for quite a few humans. After the bitch has given birth she stays with her puppies for three months, feeding them her milk. During that time other dogs provide her with food and they do the same for old, sick or injured dogs of the community. Imagine life without greed, corruption, envy, hate, dirty tricks, theft, lies....... In Costa Rica stray dogs are caught, spayed and neutered, after two weeks if no family is found, returned to the street where they were found (the surroundings they know) prior to that photos are placed on the internet, they get marked, vaccinated and chipped. If they get adopted and later on placed out on the street again, the owner is held responsible. Various homeless types that normally wouldn't meet, resulted in interesting mixtures, every dog an original and beauty of his/her own. This gave some guys the idea to start a big adoption event stressing this interesting point. The success was tremendous, men, women and children proud of their very special great new family member.

The Good, the Bad and the Ignorant

This is Sousse

Activists in Ukrainek, and some other countries meanwhile, who had enough of animal abusers. 
Maybe one day the table will be turned.

 Men generally more judge by the eyes than by the hand, for everyone can see and few can feel. Everyone sees what you appear to be, few really know what you are. Niccolo Machiavelli

Happiness is having a beautiful fur angel (or more) purring on my lap, thus telling me: I love you, it's great to be with you. You are all I need. Perfect love! Animal abusers don't know what they are missing. In Tunisia you can find absolutely gorgeous cats out on the street. Often placed there by families that did not appreciate what they had. Some try to find an alternative so that they can feel alright. Sorry, I am not your solution. My husband and I, as well as our fur family have reached our absolute limit concerning space, energy and finance. We are neither rich nor young and are self-financing. We would love to help all animals  and all unfortunate folks, but that is totally unrealistic. The situation of animals, in particular cats and dogs, is depressing. The other day a woman tried to persuade my husband that we can and should take her cat with the four babies. While she didn't see herself fit to look after the little family and didn't understand her responsibility for the babies (spay and neuter if you don't want your cat to have babies), we are expected to do miracles. Very strange. I hear cat babies screaming, one golden yellow behind my metal fencing, between my cactus plants and another one, black and white, shivering on top of my yucca plant. They were placed there by some selfish persons, who just don't care whether I can cope with more additions or not. And then there are those clever folks who believe it is Haram (forbidden according to the Quran) to have cats and dogs spayed and neutered. Killing them though is okay? A man viewed a dog having sex on the street and believed this would entitle him to beat the dog to death. Twisted mind. I hope he will be held accountable for his evil deed. Strange things are going on in some folks head. Hope it won't get worse with Corona, which effects the brains of several survivors. While in the beginning of the pandemic it looked good and promising in Tunisia, we now managed to have the highest death rate in the world. In view of our poor health service system, we urgently need experts and international help. Many continue to ignore the protective measures. Like children, only follow if this is controlled. In Kairouan military does this with success. In Sousse folks seem to be free to accept or ignore the restrictions. In the German newspaper TAZ was recently a long article printed about the present situation in Tunisia. They stated that even diplomats are shocked how Tunisian customs work and compared it to the colonial time. Not surprising then that important articles, e.g. imported medicine, is maktur (at present not available). Veterinarians complain that products are unnecessarily held back at customs. I remember during Ben Ali's regime being blankly asked by airport officials to give them small presents (shampoo, chocolate, etc). This has stopped. We have a lot of diabetics, medicine often maktur, nevertheless many cereals, fruit juices, etc sold with an extra portion of sugar or honey, very strange. My only alternative is frequently to drink water or with some luck fresh fruit juice without additions. There appear to be more beggars, their story may or may not be true. Be careful if you get out your purse that it won't get stolen. I viewed five sheep in the neighborhood bought to be slaughtered for the big religious celebration. Prior to this the sheep spends a few days with the family that will try to fatten it and the children take it for a walk, play with it, all too often without regard that it is an animal that feels stress (taken from it's usual surrounding), fear and pain. Buying a sheep is a big expenditure for a poor family, in my opinion not a must. A woman married to a poor sick man, selling self-made flat round bread, told us her daughter's biggest wish is that they buy a sheep and wanted us to donate for this. My husband told her no, we ourselves won't buy a sheep and when you are poor there are better ways to spend your money and you ought to teach your daughter to be modest with her wishes, that will make life easier for her and her family. One can buy a piece of meat instead. A few days later that woman's husband arrived and told us that they have no money for food.