kitty litter

Everywhere in Morocco (e.g., Marrakech, Chefchaouen, Casablanca, the Sahara, roadside pitstops) were covered with stray cats. Usually in my travels, I run into stray dogs, especially in Asia or Central/South America. Ancient Egyptians considered cats sacred, but did that carry over to Moroccans? Traditional Islamic beliefs has God providing for all as well as it being God's will for all living creatures, which deters neutering animals.

However, rather than viewing them as nuisances, many of the locals would leave food and water for stray cats, partly as they do not believe in throwing away food so leave scraps for the birds and cats, and partly appreciating that the cats take care of other critters like rats from the medinas and souks. Sometimes, people would pick up a stray to give it some love. It was amazing to see how the community took care of them as well as how they fit in as part of the community.

Unlike with stray dogs where feces can be seen on the streets, the stray cats' wastes did not appear to litter the streets. Although in one of the cities, someone had created a 'maison de chats' to shelter the kitties from the weather such as rain, but there was no apparent kitty box for waste duties. However, in the Sahara, it was interesting to see a cat dig a hole in the sand and then cover it  back up after it had finished defecating.

These creatures do not need domestication, as most would assume. Upon observing stray dogs and cats sharing a cardboard mat under a covered walkway during the pouring rain, a local recited a local fable about dogs, cats and mice, noting that the only one missing from the scene was a representative from the rodent family. Moral of the story was that humans teach animals to hate.