No.... definately not the musical.
Domesticated cats have been around in Egypt for close to five thousand years. The one below is the famous Egyptian "Wild Cat" or "Sand Cat" and most if not all cats in Cairo are decendants of this species of feline.
Egyptian "Wild or Sand" cat.
The wild cat first started making it's way into Egyptian society when people gathered to live in villages where they of course stored their food. That meant it was at the mercy of rats and mice...The wild cat soon found this easy food source and began hanging around...the Ancient Egyptians saw the advantage to this and eventually invited the cat into their homes...where they have been ever since.
Sacred cat or cat as a God. Found in tombs of the Pharos.
Somewhere along the line the cat started to become more important in Egyptian life...and moved up the status ladder from simple house pet...to sacred animal....eventually to deity...a God. That's why they find many cat statues like the one above in burial tombs.
Two blackies...their home is around a dumpster on a busy street near the apartment....I see them just about every day.
Alas...the fortunes of the cat in modern Egypt in general and Cairo specifically has taken and turn for the worse. Many Egyptians still have cats for pets of course....but thousands of cats have taken to the streets where they live on the razor's edge.....no life is NOT easy for a cat in Cairo.
A yellow tabby and his friend a black and white to the right.
Actually they're not friends...soon after this pictures was taken they were fighting.
They not only do they have to stake out and protect their own territory. They have to scrounge for what food they might find. Sometimes a sympathetic human might supply them with a bit of food...but mostly their diet consists of garabage (and there's lots of it) they find in the street. And of course mice and rats of which I'm told there is no shortage of either....
These guys all hang around the front door to our apartment. Our "Boab" Ahkmed feeds them.
More door cats....when you come in or out they often wrap themselves around your feet.
A straggler I came across somewhere on road 9 .....notice how skinny he is.
So now when you walk down the street you see scores of these cats darting across the traffic hiding in bushes or abandoned buildings or under crates.....absolutely everywhere.
Oops! Sorry...this is one of the guys that didn't make it. I came across him in the gutter one morning just outside the mosque. It didn't bounce.
More 80 percent of them simply don't make it....They die horribly more often than not....hit by car...attacked by dogs...starvation .....distemper....a good many of them are blind in one eye.
This little guy on road 9...probably won't make it. It's mom either headed to greener pastures or is dead in the ditch...who know....who cares.
Many cats take up station outside a butchers stand or chicken place or a fish mongers....these are usually dirty but healthier because they're getting better food. But this is all about location...location...location....and the sidewalk out in front of say....they butcher shop ...is valuable property for a cat and must be ruthlessly defended.
These two little guys brother and sister.. live under stuff just ouside of the bakery near the apartment....so at least they get scraps of bread to eat.
Kim's cat.
Kim thought she might like a cat for the apartment. So she chose the one above from the six or seven or so cats outside the apartment building door. She got food and litter and a box ....everything she might need. Then brought the cat up to the apartment...it lasted about five minutes and then started freaking out wanting to get back outside. She had to let it out...but is still trying to entice it back...but it's a slow process.
Many "Gringos" do take these cats in...but it can be a long and costly process...because most of them have worms or a minor or major form of distemper...and of course lice and fleas...and more often than not a bad attitude. Vet bills are usually significant.
No matter ......the situation remains....there are probably a million ferile cats in Cairo as we speak....starving and dieing.....but what the heck....they're only cats!
You should care more about the well-being of animals..
ReplyDeleteThe cost of Vet care in Egypt is not that high as the USA or other Western Counties. There are many vets and rescue groups in both Egypt and outside of Egypt who offer assistance for those who really wish to help the street cats. To us they are not only cats.
ReplyDeleteThe cost of Vet care in Egypt is not that high as the USA or other Western Counties. There are many vets and rescue groups in both Egypt and outside of Egypt who offer assistance for those who really wish to help the street cats. To us they are not only cats.
ReplyDelete