One of the wonderful things about living in the old Medina of Fez is the speed with which rumours spread. the latest one appears to confirm what several people have noticed: there are fewer cats in the Medina.
The rumour is that there has been a cull of cats. Because of the huge number of Medina cats, a cull may have been necessary. Of course this is the time of year when all the kittens start their hazardous journey towards adulthood and with fewer competitors probably stand a better chance of survival.
However, as one Fez resident told us, some of her favourite cat characters are no longer to be seen. Thankfully a majority of the people of Fez are particularly kind to cats. Our neighbours here at The View from Fez have all been feeding the street cats. One kind soul even provided an old bag as a bed for a family of four kittens.
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| "Is it safe to come out?" |
According to one of our readers there has been a round-up of alley cats. What is certain is that the evening feline get-together at our local fountain is a much diminished affair.
So, if anyone knows the "real" story, do let us know. In the meantime, be kind to your local cats, after all, if it was not for them, we would probably have a problem with rats and mice.
6 comments:
I don't know anything about a cull but do know that we have an massive outbreak of fleas in our house because of the alley cats, and that kittens born recently in two litters nearby all very quickly got sick and died.
I don't think that there is a cull in the medina Of Fez. May be cats are dying because of certain deseases. As The view from Fez Mentioned in the Article, Not most people are kind to them, soo many cats die because of the ignorance and the cruality of some Moroccans.
Actually Karima, the article mentions the kindness of Moroccans to cats. I see so many people who are kind. And in Islam there is a story of the Prophet (PBUH) telling his followers to be kind to a cat that slept on his prayer mat. I am sure you know the story.
Yes, there are few cruel people in ever country. Not just Morocco.
I have also noticed this. A colony of feral cats disappeared from a ruin near my house about 18 months ago, but I thought this must have been due to their being disturbed by some nearby building work. Again, this year a large number of "new" cats frequenting my roof terrace inexplicably vanished while I was in the UK for a few weeks, leaving just a couple of "regulars" belonging to neighbours. I hope "my" Sinbad (who actually belongs to a neighbour) won't be tempted to wander further afield when he stops receiving his extra rations when I next visit the UK. I must admit that I find this a little disturbing, particularly since ordinary Moroccans have always seemed so kind to cats.
Why does every one think its the Moroccans who killed them! Maybe some kind of kitten disease is making the rounds of the medina, like Feline Infectious Peritonitis or Feline Immunodeficiency Virus or even Feline Leukemia Virus. I mean seriously, how many of these cats look healthy to you guys?
@ Anonymous Not everyone is saying Moroccans are killing the cats. But, yes it is possible there is a disease. One Moroccan tells me that the cats always vanish before Ramadan!
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