It always makes me sad to see stray animals…probably because in my family the pets are spoiled absolutely rotten and by consequence are sleek fuzzy dictators that will never know serious want in their entire lives.
But the street kitties in Israel at least appear to be doing okay. They look a little less hungry and dirty than is the norm–probably because the locals appear relatively friendly at the many streetside cafes that were by my hotel in Haifa. The kitties are somewhat skittish, as can be expected, but still comfortable enough around humans to come forward for skritchies. A pretty little calico stuck by my table for about an hour one day, begging for scratches and food (I happily obliged), and a lovely long haired dark tabby got it’s chin scratched by another table at dinner. In Jerusalem, I also was able to say hello to two pretty long-hairs sitting on a wall, as well as the super friendly strays in the Old City.
Israel also appears somewhat kitty-friendly…or at least a quick search on the internet engine brought up the Israel Cat Lover’s Society and a Cats of Israel photo blog quite quickly. They also banned declawing a couple years ago! So I felt a little better and could resist the urge to sneak a live meowing souvenir into my suitcase 🙂