The stray cats of Essaouira, Morocco

A few months ago my wife and I spent a few weeks touring Morocco.  I was used to the plastic bag trash; I live in Tucson and plastic bag litter is a huge problem here. I find it ironic that countries like poor Rwanda have outlawed plastic bags and what a difference it makes for the landscape, (as well as the animals, that don’t get sick or die from eating plastic bags).  But, for some reason,

we in the US don’t want to inconvenience ourselves and eliminate plastic bags. What I wasn’t use to were all the stray cats and dogs. At least many of the cats were neutered (you could tell because their ears were notched). The Moroccan’s seemed to like their cats; in the seaport Essaouira the fishermen enthusiastically shared fish guts etc with the cats (and the sea gulls). In town many people put out food for the strays.

Enjoy the pictures and if you are interested in my book, Laughter and Tears: A Veterinarian's Memoir and Advice check this link: