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Wednesday 9 February 2011

Cats of Marrakech

Hey everyone!  Mia here.  I'm feeling a little subdued today, not my normal bouncy self, so let me tell you why.  Last weekend, Rachel and Pete went away to a place called MARRAKECH - ooh doesn't that sound exciting?  When they came home they said they'd had a great time and it was lovely and sunny, but they were a little bit sad because they'd were so many cats and kittens there.  I didn't understand that at all - how could you EVER be sad when there are loads of kitties around?!


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Then they told us that we are very lucky kitties because we live somewhere that's warm, dry and clean (although they did cast a glance at the sofa at this point, where I'd made a welcome home carpet of my fluff).  We have humans who love us and give us food every day, and take us to the V-E-T when we are sick (hmm, not sure how grateful I am for THAT).

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They said that not all cats get to live in such a happy place, and that there were lots of cats in Marrakech who have to live outside all year round, and catch ALL their own food, and eat things like lizards and cockroaches and things from the bin.  EWW!  I mean I'm not averse to munching on the odd spider, but cockroaches?!  And she said that the mummy cats have lots of kittens all the time, which is really tiring, and there's not always enough food to go round for everyone.  If you don't feel well there's no-one to make you better, and it's hard to keep on top of grooming when you're always sleeping in the dust.

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But, she said, at least it is warmer there than here, and lizards might actually be OK to eat, and some of the nice people who lived there would share their lunch with the cats.  In fact, Rachel said she give this pretty pregnant cat a whole chicken skewer one lunchtime!

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There were still lots of sorry and sick cats everywhere though, and it did make me feel sad to hear about them.  So I hope you don't mind seeing some photos of the cats of Marrakech today, instead of more cute photos of me and Lila.  Normal service will be resumed next time!

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PS - Rachel says there is a super duper charity based in the UK which helps neuter stray cats and dogs in Morocco and keep them healthy, they are called Help the Street Animals of Morocco if you wanted to have a look at their website.  She also says we mustn't forget that there are lots of stray cats in the UK too who have a tough life and that places like Battersea (where we came from!), Cat's Protection, and Celia Hammond Trust do some fantastic work here.  How nice are they?!

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