Take Me To The Kittens! (2011)
The streets of Essauoira teem with cats. For every one you'll see, the chances are you've missed ten, patrolling the bushes that hedge the public gardens, looking for mice; curled up on a fisherman's old jacket. Some are sunning themselves on a precarious spot along the old city ramparts, the ocean crashes a dizzying drop beneath them; others, more adventurous, wait expectantly for the next raggedy tit-bit to be thrown from the butcher's table. A small kitten runs alongside one of the young, fast-legged hashish dealers who haunt the square with their platters of cakes; another nestles luxuriantly in the lap of a soft-touch tourist as she sits in one of the city's cafés.
Cat life, here, is hard and fast. The incessant Atlantic wind, once said to drive travellers mad wth its quiet but never-ceasing howl, stirs up a constant groundswell of sand and dust that can temporarily blind the youngest, most vulnerable kittens and permanently detach them from their mothers so that their only hope of survival is to win the affections of a kindly local. With no veterinary care to speak of, ear-ticks, fleas, ringworm, and cat flu are all too common and, untreated, can quickly become fatal.
Then, there are the daily negotations for territory, to secure the best spot in the fishmarket, or the plushest carpet shop, and the inevitable battle-scars these negotiations result in. Some cats are loners; others remain in sibling groups to exploit the strength to be gained in numbers; still other pick the most unlikely allies: a tabby by the rampart gates has befriended a sausage dog, who stands guard at night and keeps her safe from harm.
For all their hardships, the cats of Essaouira remain a sight to behold. Acrobatic and resourceful, independent and free to roam, I can't help but wonder whether my own cat, apparently content with her regular meals and her favourite cushion, wouldn't relish just a taste of this alternative, unbounded, pirate life.
Essaouira, Morocco, 2011.
Cat life, here, is hard and fast. The incessant Atlantic wind, once said to drive travellers mad wth its quiet but never-ceasing howl, stirs up a constant groundswell of sand and dust that can temporarily blind the youngest, most vulnerable kittens and permanently detach them from their mothers so that their only hope of survival is to win the affections of a kindly local. With no veterinary care to speak of, ear-ticks, fleas, ringworm, and cat flu are all too common and, untreated, can quickly become fatal.
Then, there are the daily negotations for territory, to secure the best spot in the fishmarket, or the plushest carpet shop, and the inevitable battle-scars these negotiations result in. Some cats are loners; others remain in sibling groups to exploit the strength to be gained in numbers; still other pick the most unlikely allies: a tabby by the rampart gates has befriended a sausage dog, who stands guard at night and keeps her safe from harm.
For all their hardships, the cats of Essaouira remain a sight to behold. Acrobatic and resourceful, independent and free to roam, I can't help but wonder whether my own cat, apparently content with her regular meals and her favourite cushion, wouldn't relish just a taste of this alternative, unbounded, pirate life.
Essaouira, Morocco, 2011.
