Assisting street cats in Egypt with food, medical care, and TNR (trap, neuter, release).
Although I had many neutered over the years, there are still new kittens in the neighbourhood.
I check this mum and babies every day, fortunately no eye infections and mum cat is taking good care of them.
They stay under bushes during the heat of the day and enjoy the cool of the tiles outside this home when the sun isn't directly on them.
New arrival this morning, apparently dumped and struggling to find food in the street.
Dirty and thin, and won't let me touch him.
Hopefully after some food and water he will feel safe and I can clean him or he will clean himself. He was clearly a beauty before suffering in the street.
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Please share the Heart of Egypt page or any posts from it if you can.
May was a challenging month and although I was away for surgery the street cats continued to come for water and food, with a kind neighbour looking after them during this time. I am happy to be back and see them doing well.
I continue to care for them every day of course, but following surgery trip my personal funds have less to spare for their feeding, and I was still hoping to neuter several more cats in the second half of this year.
That's why your sharing of the page or posts matters, as it may bring even a little support from others who wish to make life better for these Egyptian street cats.
Thanks for following and continuing to care.
I've been offline for a while due to eye surgery. I just wanted to reassure everyone that the cats who visit regularly are being well cared for in my absence.
I hope to be back home this week and will do update photos then, so you can see how the courtyard crew are doing.
Photo: A tale of Egyptian cats, published in 1890, London.
Happy to report I made my first sale of products featuring my photos, all to benefit the street cats, on RedBubble.
Someone in Austria bought a Sekhmet pillow.
It is a perfect circle that my photo of an ancient Egyptian goddess with lioness features is now helping to feed Egyptian street cats.
Small profits on each product sold, but every $ or € helps provide food and medical care for the cats.
More designs available at https://www.redbubble.com/people/egyptoasislove/shop
Wherever I walk there are cats in need of a little assistance.
Local shopping area this morning a tiny kitten ran towards me mewing loudly. As soon as I approached it the mother cat appeared, hoping for some food. While I patted the mum cat, her kitten ran under a parked car. My cat immediately left me to retrieve her kitten.
My container of dry food was already empty and the pet shop is not open until afternoon, so I got some cheese from the supermarket and returned to give it to them.
While these two were eating there was more kitten crying from inside the shopping mall. Mum cat ran inside with a piece of cheese and I followed to see two more of her kittens, neither as adventurous as this little one. I put out some cheese for them to share and left them to it.
How neutering transforms the life of a street cat.
This cat had multiple litters of kittens over several years until we were at last able to catch her between pregnancies.
My adopted nearly blind cat Fullah was a kitten of this cat, but was abandoned in the street when her eyes became infected. She was fortunate I found her and she wasn't hit by a car or bike.
We knew then that getting this cat neutered should be a priority, she should not be struggling more with kittens.
For more than a year the mother cat hissed at Fullah whenever she visited the courtyard, and she was often aggressive with other cats that approached her and also sometimes aggressive with humans.
After my neighbour paid for neutering and we caught her, this previously thin, worn out mum cat has become calm, healthy and even affectionate with the other cats, both the street cats that visit and my adopted street cats, seen in these photos.
Aside from ending her constant struggle with pregnancy and care of new kittens, neutering has given her a gentle personality and better social interaction with other cats and with humans.
Seeing her like this brings tears of happiness to my eyes.
Although I can't ensure a great life for every street cat, I try to assist all those that I can. Even if this is only with medical help, patching them up after bin scavenging injuries, or giving them some assistance food, I will give what is possible.
Ever rising costs and the neverending number of cats mean every donation is deeply appreciated. This old boy likely will never have a home, but today was an easier day for him as he got some food given to him instead of having to scavenge for hours for it among plastic bags and broken glass.
That's thanks to a very generous donation from Belinda Landsberry who also donated last year. Her donation will again provide assist feeding for some time for multiple cats who visit a nearby community bin, and also neutering for one cat.
It will change the lives of these cats, and if they could speak they would send a big THANK YOU to Belinda. I add my own "Thank you" from the heart, for the relief this brings me in knowing I can continue to care for them thanks to this donation.
This street kitten is shy and didn't keep still for photos, but let me pat and check it is healthy. Every week I meet new kittens in the streets and although they are sweet I wish there were less of them.
The only way to stop the struggle for many of the street cats and decrease the number of kittens is TNR (trap, neuter, release).
For that we need funds. Please share this post if you can. Donation numbers are low and the cats and I are thankful for every $ that gives them a healthy start in life through assisted feeding and medical care, and can help fund neutering and decrease the numbers of kittens.
A few locals enjoying the late afternoon near one of the community bins. They know that after dark when people have eaten there will likely be meal remainders added to the bin, so they will stay close to get first chance at any food. These cats get a little dry food from me at least three times a week, more often if I see any of them looking thin.
Abandoned ginger kitten is doing well. He is healthy and eats as much as an adult cat 🙀 He is extremely affectionate, and now housetrained. Adventurous and curious about everything, he is quickly learning to socialise with my cats.
He has some outside time daily to explore the garden and get to know the street cats.
After two months, when he is big enough to be seen by drivers of cars and riders of bikes, I will let him begin to stay outside a few hours each day without me. He needs to then learn to scavenge with the big cats, unless someone can give him a permanent home.
Sometimes I really dislike humans. It seems someone dumped this injured cat or it has run away from mistreatment 😿
It came to the courtyard probably following the other street cats, it has probably been trying to scavenge but has become hungry enough to look beyond the rubbish in the community bins. With the injured paw it probably struggles to jump up and into the bins.
Its fur has started to become matted, and it mostly just looks miserable and disoriented. It was sharing the water bowls I keep filled for the street cats and also accepted some food, but at first it wouldn't come to me or let me touch it to check for other injuries.
After watching me pat and talk to the other cats it soon understood I would not hurt it and let me pat it a little. Still it is frightened, possibly abused and so is wary of humans.
I'll check on it again later today and see if it will let me examine the leg and paw. Sometimes a cat gets a paw cut on glass or tins in the rubbish and I can treat the wound, hopefully it isn't a car, human or dog inflicted injury that I can't fix.
The street cats are wary of it and their hissing makes it nervous, but it doesn't trust me enough to come into the apartment to have some rest and comfort.
I also want to give it a bath, but a lot more trust is needed before it will let that happen. I'm hoping after some food it will try to clean itself.
I know times are tough, I know many are struggling, but I despair when I see what has clearly been someone's pet left to struggle in the street.
New arrival is doing well. He has a big appetite and between sleeps he is affectionate and active, following me everywhere.
He is a little scared of the big cats but he will get used to them in time.
He has an hour in the courtyard each day to enjoy the trees and meet the regular street cat visitors, and to get used to the daily street sounds.
No idea how he got the kink in his tail, but the end of tail still has movement and it clearly isn't causing him any pain. Thanks to my neighbour he had his first injection to ward off the infections cats are prone to.
Why was getting 2 female cats neutered this week a success? What about all the male cats?
Unfortunately it is impossible to get all of the many street cats done on limited funds, neutering is expensive, and concentrating on the females is most effective. Getting these two done means from 6 to 10 more kittens won't be added to this street in the next few months, and long term that can mean many more don't get born to struggle in tough street life.
It is still possible that orphan kittens from nearby streets may turn up, like little ginger boy this week, or that I find them in other streets when I'm out walking.
Also can't rule out new people moving into the area with female cats not neutered that later get dumped or their kittens get dumped 😿
Still, these two being done will limit the numbers and also make a substantial long term difference to their own health.
Having multiple pregnancies and bringing up their kittens in the street really wears out the mum cats, it's heartbreaking to see the state they end up in if they can't find enough food while feeding kittens.
Two successes, street cats having their neutering today. Teamwork with my neighbour organising the vet and paying for neutering.
"Mum cat" had several litters of babies and between each my neighbour and I tried to catch her for neutering but failed. This time we had a vet ready to collect her and I kept her inside all afternoon, and when she was relaxed got her into a carrier without getting scratched and bitten and cat running off to hide as happened on previous attempts.
She became so thin feeding the last litter, we were determined she would not get pregnant again. We thought she may not survive another litter. You can see she has been fed well and regained her health.
The other cat is very young and we thought was male (as sometimes happens) but this week it became clear he is a she 🙀
She is very small, much smaller than her brother, and we decided she absolutely had to be neutered before she got pregnant. Having kittens for such a small cat could mean kittens or the cat herself may not survive.
She was avoiding us, but just as we gave up hope of catching her yesterday she turned up and went easily into a carrier. One of my cats was concerned about her and kept guard until the vet arrived to collect her.
They will stay a few days with the vet after surgery. Another neighbour kindly paid for the neutering of the boy who turned out to be a girl.
When they return from vet they will get extra care for a week or so, additional food from me to ensure their healing process is smooth and they don't need to scavenge in the big bins.
Cold nights now, so the long hair street cats like this have the advantage. I've made some beds but need to make more as they are in demand now, sleeping in the open has lost its Summer appeal.
I'm also keeping an eye on one cat that might be pregnant. Winter isn't a great time to deliver kittens, so if she does turn out to be pregnant I will make her a more protected enclosure to keep her and babies warm and separated from the other cats. She will need to feel secure and know there is extra food nearby so she won't have to go as far as usual to scavenge, leaving kittens without warmth.
The medical kit for cats had to be restocked this week. I found several street cats with injuries, plus two with ear mites and one with an eye infection (both common among the street cats).
This old street boy was in a mess 😿
He may have been injured in a fight, hit by a car or kicked.
He is looking better after care but needs ongoing help. He doesn't like to stay inside and gets panicky if I close the door, so I am letting him wander in and out of the apartment as he wishes. He doesn't like to be inside long but at least he is staying close so I can care for him.
Medicines for animals are often impossible to get here, many are imported.
We also have to use medicine designed for humans as a second best, but fortunately it usually solves the problems.
The shaker isn't herbs or spices, it is dried catnip 😸 This is often useful if I have to get an injured cat to let me care for it, or get a cat into a carrier to bring it home for care or take it to vet. I also have catnip spray.
Medicine of some sort of needed almost daily for at least one cat or another.
These are some of the things your donations help me provide. I couldn't do it all without your help.
I hope our kind followers can share any post from the page, to invite others to follow. Thanks to those who already shared posts or the page link.
Just as I saved enough to make more Winter beds and get a neutering of a female street cat done, I found an injured cat that needs care 😢
I will find a way to provide what is needed, but I need to find more fundraising options going forward, if anyone has suggestions they are welcome.
Unfortunately the Christmas market where I usually sell things to fund the street cats was cancelled, so no income from that this year.
🐱 Every share of the page or a post can potentially help, even though I know people have many demands on their generosity.
Artist not known, wish I could credit them. This 🌻🐈⬛ helped me smile today while facing more challenges for the street cats.
Wherever there is a rubbish bin or a pile of rubbish, that's where I check for injured or orphaned cats.
I do whatever I can for those that need help, and give some food to ensure they get enough in addition to their scavenging, but not so much food that they become dependent on my visits.
There are also other people who sometimes feed the cats, but I don't see them every day. An injury left more than a day untreated can mean infection and even death, so I try to do a round of my area every day to catch any eye infections or other problems early.
This is why we ❤️ our donors.
I wish I could adopt every street cat or find each a permanent home, but it just isn't possible.
Of this litter I adopted for life Fullah (the smaller cat) because when I found her in the street she had infected eyes and was nearly blind. Her two brothers were more fortunate with their eyes, but I could not also adopt them. They had assistance feeding from as soon as they left their mother, but are mostly scavengers. The assistance feeding and occasional medical care they get now is helped by donations. You can see they are healthy and not scared of humans, due to ongoing visits to the courtyard and some time inside on cold Winter mornings.
Having visits from them helped Fullah become socialized. Due to her lack of sight she was fearful of other cats approaching her, but visits by her brothers helped her become less easily frightened.
So while I can't give these boys everything I give Fullah, donations mean I can give them more care than they would have with no support on the streets.
E-calendars are ready for our wonderful donors, here is a short video walkthrough 🐈⬛🐈 of the 12 month version (14 pages), and in Comment under the post is the year in one page version.
PLEASE SHARE THIS POST even if you aren't able to donate. I understand there are so many causes in need of your donations and not everyone can support our cause also.
WHICH CALENDAR DO YOU GET?
You will receive the single page e-calendar that is handy for your phone or computer desktop AND the 12 month PDF e-calendar which has more photos of your favourite Egyptian street cats.
These can be sent to you, just provide your email address.
Any donation of US$5 or the equivalent in your currency will receive the two styles of e-calendar. Every $ € £ donated helps the cats and we are deeply thankful for your support. You are potentially saving lives and giving the street cats I care for less difficult lives by providing food, medical care, some shelter, and I hope in 2024 more TNR (neutering) to keep the number of cats from increasing.
Hard copy calendars will be made if I can get to Cairo soon and organise a printer. Cost of printing and postage will determine cost per calendar. As these will need to be couriered to those in Egypt (unless you are visiting my city 🐱) it may not be cost effective to make and send print copies, I have to do the research on this.
I don't want to ask a high price, but naturally have to cover costs and make at least a small profit for the cats from purchases / donations.
I will keep you updated on this page.
🐈 Donors outside Egypt: unfortunately will only get e-calendars due to postal system challenges here 😿
If I get print (hard copy) calendars made, I will try to post those to you if I am in a country outside Egypt or know someone visiting your country soon.
🐱 Anyone in Egypt who donates now will receive the e-calendars, then if I do make the print versions and your donation covered the cost of a calendar and courier, I'll send a calendar to you of course with no further need to purchase/donate.
🗓️💡 I only recently thought of making calendars. Next year, if there is enough interest, I hope to have print calendars ready by November so anyone ordering will have them before Christmas / New Year, for themselves or for gift giving.
I am making more outdoor beds for them, but the street cats still prefer to be inside any opportunity they get 😸 It is 15° outside at night now and will get colder during December to February. Cold winds often whip across the headland, from the nearby sea and desert.
I've also just found one street cat who is obviously pregnant, so I'm feeding her extra to help ensure kittens will be healthy. Having kittens in Winter is tough for street cats here.
She is a cat I previously tried to catch for neutering but she is fierce and got away. After this litter is old enough to be separated from her, I will get friends to help catch her and hopefully can get her surgery done.
Donations are still (and always) welcome to help with Winter beds, medicine, annual vaccinations, neutering and rising food costs.
Every donation no matter how small helps more cats have a better chance of surviving Winter.
Some people think street cats have no worth, are dirty or ugly. I see their beauty, even when their tough life has left then with some scars.
Street cats just want love, just like any cat or human.
"Please don't put me outside for the night!"
The street cats that nobody will adopt have to survive as best they can now cold Winter nights are here. I've made them some outdoor beds but need to make more.
The usual courtyard visitors that are brave enough to come inside can't understand that my four adopted cats can stay in, but that they must go outside when I am not home and at night.
It's hard having to put them out, when they look at me this way.
"Our dear street cat supporters,
Thanks to our friends who helped us already this year, your support made a big difference in our lives 🐱
Winter 🥶 is here and we need warm beds as outdoor temperatures will drop to under 10° Celcius and the sea and desert winds can make us feel even colder.
We also need to have our annual vaccinations to protect us from various illnesses that we can pick up in the streets."
We know that many charities and worthwhile causes need your donations, but if you are planning🎄🎁 Christmas giving please keep us in mind.
Compassionate giving, which is gifting a donation in the name of a friend or someone in your family, is something we also encourage. They can follow on this page how their gift is benefiting the street cats throughout the year.
Even the smallest donations help, and if we end up with enough donations for these Winter needs and the ongoing needs of food and medicine, these donations can also contribute to neutering of more street cats which helps to prevent more kittens being born into a life of struggle on the streets.
Please share the post with friends if you feel you can.
⭐ 🐱 Donations can be made through PayPal or you can message for bank account details for bank transfer. For PayPal the payment name to use is MindseyePhotography http://paypal.me/MindseyePhotography
Every street cat we can assist feed if they are orphaned, pregnant or nursing, or provide outdoor shelter and medical care or neutering for, is one more cat that has less struggle to survive.
Thanks from all the street cats you help at Heart of Egypt Cat Care.
🐈⬛🐈🐈⬛🐈🐈⬛
I am hoping to make both e-calendars and hard copy calendars to gift to donors, but this may not happen until next year as I need to travel to Cairo to source a printer for the hard copy calendars. Keep following the page for updates on this.
Watching the human carry things up to the roof to make our Winter beds.
Suggestions needed.
The Christmas market where I was going to have a table of things for sale to raise funds for Winter beds for the street cats has been cancelled 😔
This got me thinking again about what I can give in return for donations. I don't like to ask for assistance for the street cats without giving something to donors in return.
I am thinking about a calendar of the best photos of the street cats? It would probably be physical calendar for those living here but a digital calendar sent by email for those outside Egypt, because international postage from Egypt has to be courier to ensure delivery, and that would take a big chunk out of donations.
Calender and digital calendar?
Or something else?
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E-calendars are ready for our wonderful donors, here is a short video walkthrough 🐈⬛🐈 of the 12 month version (14 pages), and in Comment under the post is the year in one page version. PLEASE SHARE THIS POST even if you aren't able to donate. I understand there are so many causes in need of your donations and not everyone can support our cause also. WHICH CALENDAR DO YOU GET? You will receive the single page e-calendar that is handy for your phone or computer desktop AND the 12 month PDF e-calendar which has more photos of your favourite Egyptian street cats. These can be sent to you, just provide your email address. Any donation of US$5 or the equivalent in your currency will receive the two styles of e-calendar. Every $ € £ donated helps the cats and we are deeply thankful for your support. You are potentially saving lives and giving the street cats I care for less difficult lives by providing food, medical care, some shelter, and I hope in 2024 more TNR (neutering) to keep the number of cats from increasing. Hard copy calendars will be made if I can get to Cairo soon and organise a printer. Cost of printing and postage will determine cost per calendar. As these will need to be couriered to those in Egypt (unless you are visiting my city 🐱) it may not be cost effective to make and send print copies, I have to do the research on this. I don't want to ask a high price, but naturally have to cover costs and make at least a small profit for the cats from purchases / donations. I will keep you updated on this page. 🐈 Donors outside Egypt: unfortunately will only get e-calendars due to postal system challenges here 😿 If I get print (hard copy) calendars made, I will try to post those to you if I am in a country outside Egypt or know someone visiting your country soon. 🐱 Anyone in Egypt who donates now will receive the e-calendars, then if I do make the print versions and your donation covered the cost of a calendar and courier, I'll
Some people think street cats have no worth, are dirty or ugly. I see their beauty, even when their tough life has left then with some scars.
Street cats have challenging lives, but they often interact beyond the bonds of family and can be suportive of each other. These cats are from different parents but hang out together. As the female has been neutered there is no harrassment from the males. Ultimately I would like to get as many neutered as possible, but females are the priority. #cats #streetcats #egyptiancats
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