Among my most vivid memories of my first trip to Israel in 1989 are the packs of roaming feral cats. And while Israelis have told us that things have improved, many still appear to be live and well. Exhibit A:
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| Wild cats hanging out on a Tel Aviv street. |
They are all over the place. We've seen them in Jerusalem, and Tel Aviv, and Eilat, and Haifa (where one wandered into the hostel courtyard and apparently had a seizure inches from my chair - I couldn't bare to watch this, but Melissa said it was pretty awful). Despite Israel's best efforts, it seems that that the breeding continues....Exhibit B was intended to be a close-up of a cat with its large scrotum hanging between its legs, but my iPad trigger finger was sadly too slow to catch this very rare sight (at least for an American).
We wondered if this was something peculiar to Israel, or more of a Middle Eastern trend. Sad to say, we didn't see any cats in Jordan, although there were plenty of dogs. And an Israeli who lived for several years in Egypt reported that Cairo does not have stray cats. Once again, Israel baffles the mind.
Hello Adam and Melissa!
ReplyDeleteLooks like you guys are discovering new grounds in Israel and I am pleased to hear that you are concerned about the welfare of cats there. Just kidding, but I wanted to let you know that the postcard arrived! Looks like you had a great time in Jordan and Petra. Your daily travel log is so interesting and funny that I think you should compile them into a book and publish them when you come back.
Take good care,
-Y
Thanks for this post...although feral cats are a serious issue, it was a bit lighter than the last couple posts.
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