About to be killed as he was seen as being a 'nuisance' - we gladly gave Oreo a home, and he has turned out to be no 'nuisance' at all ! Long time readers of this blog will know about the many dogs and cats I have given homes to over the years – many rescued from a life of misery and starvation – some brought back from almost the brink of death – and now living in the lap of luxury with more love, comfort and food than they could ever ask for ! (You can read, and see photo’s of, the courageous little dog who started it all over here).
We currently have 5 cats and 2 dogs that live with us, 2 stray village dogs living permanently in our garden, 5 cats which live at staff quarters and are cared for by us and 1 cat in the village. Then we feed & care for another 3 ‘stray’ village dogs on a permanent basis, and feed at least another 6 or so in the village that come and go.
By ‘feed and care’ I mean that we also ensure that their annual rabies vaccinations are done, they are regularly de-wormed and the ones which we can ‘catch’ are all spayed or neutered. We also help with small things like treating eye infections and superficial wounds. (By ‘we’ I mean Justin and I)
Of course it was never meant to be like this …. caring for so many animals …. When we moved to the farm in 2005 we came with our 2 dogs and 2 cats and that (we thought) was it. But over the years I’ve become aware of so many animals around me in need, and with no animal welfare type societies here (except for a small organization in the city) – who is there to look after these waifs and strays ? I can’t turn my back on an animal in need and slowly, over the years – I’ve ended up caring for more and more of them along the way.
Anyway, just a few weeks ago we welcomed a new cat into our home (even though my husband said ‘Don’t you think we’ve got enough now ?!’) …. he’s the young male pictured above, and his name is Oreo (named by my daughter – yes, after the cookies – although I don’t know why !)
My friend E. who also lives on a farm here in Tanzania and who happens to be a vet (you can read a little about that over here) asked me if I’d give this cat a home, as he was about to be killed ! He had been brought in (thankfully) by someone from a farm near theirs as he had been causing a lot of problems in the area – fighting with ‘tame’ house cats, scavenging for food and they asked her to put him down, saying ‘If he comes back, he’ll be killed’. Now E. has lots of dogs and cats herself, and she is very pro life and won’t put a healthy animal down, but she was scared to keep this cat himself, as he would surely return to his ‘territory’ and be killed. So, she asked if I would take him. Of coruse I couldn’t say no !
Oreo was a bit of a nightmare to begin with – fighting with all our cats and causing havoc in our peaceful household ! But he has since come to realize that he has nothing to fear (along with a plentiful supply of food and love !) and has settled in quite well, spending his nights on my daughter’s bed (I suspect he was cared for or played with by children at some stage).
The sad thing is that he cringes if you stroke him suddenly – he also runs and hides when he hears loud noises – so he’s obviously been chased or possibly even hit by people before. But he’ll overcome all that - with lots of love and cuddles !
E. says he has a bit of a ‘wildcat’ look about him, and along with his colouring (he has some spot like markings on his coat, too) she thinks that somewhere along the line he may have been the result of a wildcat/domestic cat crossing.
Anyway, he’s now been neutered and vaccinated and although quite thin, he’ll soon fatten up – and he can look forward to a life of comfort and love now !
(If you’d like to read more about my pets or animals I've helped, you can browse through the ‘Pets’ category in the right sidebar.)
We currently have 5 cats and 2 dogs that live with us, 2 stray village dogs living permanently in our garden, 5 cats which live at staff quarters and are cared for by us and 1 cat in the village. Then we feed & care for another 3 ‘stray’ village dogs on a permanent basis, and feed at least another 6 or so in the village that come and go.
By ‘feed and care’ I mean that we also ensure that their annual rabies vaccinations are done, they are regularly de-wormed and the ones which we can ‘catch’ are all spayed or neutered. We also help with small things like treating eye infections and superficial wounds. (By ‘we’ I mean Justin and I)
Of course it was never meant to be like this …. caring for so many animals …. When we moved to the farm in 2005 we came with our 2 dogs and 2 cats and that (we thought) was it. But over the years I’ve become aware of so many animals around me in need, and with no animal welfare type societies here (except for a small organization in the city) – who is there to look after these waifs and strays ? I can’t turn my back on an animal in need and slowly, over the years – I’ve ended up caring for more and more of them along the way.
Anyway, just a few weeks ago we welcomed a new cat into our home (even though my husband said ‘Don’t you think we’ve got enough now ?!’) …. he’s the young male pictured above, and his name is Oreo (named by my daughter – yes, after the cookies – although I don’t know why !)
My friend E. who also lives on a farm here in Tanzania and who happens to be a vet (you can read a little about that over here) asked me if I’d give this cat a home, as he was about to be killed ! He had been brought in (thankfully) by someone from a farm near theirs as he had been causing a lot of problems in the area – fighting with ‘tame’ house cats, scavenging for food and they asked her to put him down, saying ‘If he comes back, he’ll be killed’. Now E. has lots of dogs and cats herself, and she is very pro life and won’t put a healthy animal down, but she was scared to keep this cat himself, as he would surely return to his ‘territory’ and be killed. So, she asked if I would take him. Of coruse I couldn’t say no !
Oreo was a bit of a nightmare to begin with – fighting with all our cats and causing havoc in our peaceful household ! But he has since come to realize that he has nothing to fear (along with a plentiful supply of food and love !) and has settled in quite well, spending his nights on my daughter’s bed (I suspect he was cared for or played with by children at some stage).
The sad thing is that he cringes if you stroke him suddenly – he also runs and hides when he hears loud noises – so he’s obviously been chased or possibly even hit by people before. But he’ll overcome all that - with lots of love and cuddles !
E. says he has a bit of a ‘wildcat’ look about him, and along with his colouring (he has some spot like markings on his coat, too) she thinks that somewhere along the line he may have been the result of a wildcat/domestic cat crossing.
Anyway, he’s now been neutered and vaccinated and although quite thin, he’ll soon fatten up – and he can look forward to a life of comfort and love now !
(If you’d like to read more about my pets or animals I've helped, you can browse through the ‘Pets’ category in the right sidebar.)
