Cats

Ever since we arrived over three weeks ago I have seen hundreds of feral cats.  My initial reaction was to complain to the government about starting a campaign to spay and neuter the cats on the street as there are truly dozens on almost every block!   Some live near the open markets, some in the old city hiding among ruins, ancient buildings and roads and all look pretty streetwise and thin.  Some have missing eyes from fighting, some show the wounds of recent fights.  All make me sad. The local people seem indifferent.

At first I thought the Israelis were lazy or didn't care about animals.  I talked to many people about the stray cats, and the fact that there aren't many birds for a place in such a Mediterranean and perfect environment.  I was told that the cats were initially brought in to "take care of the rodent problem".  The rodents disappeared and the cats multiplied.  There was an uproar by the citizens about all the cats, so they were... taken care of too,  Soon the rodents returned, and cats were brought back in... Can you say vicious cycle?

These cats were in the oldest part of the old city in the Kardo fighting.  I broke it up and the aggressor (the black cat that looks like Mr Gryff) became my friend.  I have seen him every time I've gone through that area and he purrs and lets me pet him... and Noa says "USE THE PURELL"

The cats congregate near open markets especially around fish and meat sellers  Many nice people leave out fresh water, we even saw an old man feeding 30+ cats in a park.  You can walk down a major shopping street and see cats in the trash bins or just walking down the street.  Some even walk into restaurants, we saw one on a chair in a Tel Aviv restaurant.

I don't know what the answer is, but a country that has loads of smart people can certainly do better than this.