The life of a cat in Marrakech.
One of the things you will notice when you’re in Marrakech is the number of stray cats everywhere.
I was surprised to see so many, especially around the busy square, and in the souks.
They seemed to be experts at dodging the many motorcycles and hiding inconspicuously under the juice stalls.
There were cats sleeping on rugs and cushion covers in the souks, and lazing about without a care in the world.
I witnessed strays giving birth to kittens inside alleyways and watched as cats prowled across rooftop perimeters at dawn.
Five years ago, when I first visited Marrakech, I took pity on the cute little kittens hanging around outside my riad.
They looked thin and hungry, I wanted to do something to help them..
I purchased a couple of tins of sardines and carefully wrapped the leftovers from my dinner into napkins.
I found a couple of cats and strategically placed the food in a safe place for them.
The next minute, there were so many cats who appeared out of nowhere, also demanding to be fed.
This made me feel very guilty because I’d only managed to afford them a few tiny morsels.
It was a case of first come, first served..
I went back to the UK feeling a little sorry for all the homeless cats who alerted passing tourists of their existence with a gentle mewing and extended paw.
The next time I arrived at marrakech, I saw things from a different perspective.
Cats are seen as ritually pure in the Islamic faith and highly regarded.
According to the Prophet Muhammad, cats are allowed access to homes and mosques because they don’t create impurity.
I stayed in three separate riads that each had a resident cat, who was very well cared for.
I noticed restaurants leaving food outside their premises and butchers dropping scraps of meat on the floor for the local cat population to eat.
Many of the cats were being looked after, and some were actually thriving on the titbits and bowls of food dotted around the medina.
There was only one upsetting incident where a young man was sitting with a kitten on his lap, and it was holding a business card in its paws.
On closer inspection, it isn’t something I ever want to see again, and I don’t feel the need to go into more detail here..
I’m sure you can imagine what I saw.
That is the only startling discovery I have made, thankfully.
On the whole, the cats appear to be relatively content.
They don’t exist in the way domesticated cats do in the west, but they’re not being ill treated any more than anywhere else in the world.
I even saw a man get off his motorcycle in the busy souk and move a little kitten to the safety of an alleyway.
If you’re coming to Marrakech, seeing all the stray cats may initially shock you.
I was exactly the same, but after closer observation, I came to the conclusion that the situation wasn’t as dire as I first thought.
There are plenty of little pools of water around the city for the cats to drink from, and some vendors leave water out for them.
The crazy traffic and crowds of tourists seem to be the biggest problem, but the cats have learnt how to navigate their way around.
I’m happy to say that I haven’t seen an injured cat lying at the side of any of the roads around Marrakech yet.
There are tourists who are rescuing stray cats around Marrakech and taking them back to European countries.
They are working with local vets to get injured cats treated and all the necessary vaccinations done before taking them out of the country.
The cats in Marrakesh have learnt how to survive.
They only know this life, and have adapted to it.
On the whole, people are kind and compassionate towards them.
Plus, in all the years of visiting Marrakech, I’ve never seen one single rat in the city.
Sounds Of The Souks 