CATS

No, we’re not talking about the Tony award winning Broadway musical here. Even more annoying than show tunes is the ever pervasive stream of feline accompaniment when one sits down to enjoy a meal in Egypt. You can well imagine all the wonderful Egyptian symbolism the cat evokes in people. For most of us it’s been cultivated through a steady diet of National Geographic and the Discovery Channel. But I never realized how it would translate into real, everyday life. There are cats here in Egypt - lots of them. The majority - as you can imagine - have no home. They carouse at your shoes and swing from the rooftops. Quite literally they are everywhere. In many ways it is a sad testament to a country without an animal control service. In others – these cats are living as wild an existence as humanity affords. They use their cunning and wit to forage for food, find suitable shelter, breed at will and basically survive in the world to which they were thrown. There are quite a few Broadway musicals that could learn a thing or two from these beasts.