CATS!

One thing I was not expecting to find in Fes was the huge number of stray cats (I've only heard of an abundance of stray dogs in various Muslim countries. These have a much smaller but noticeable presence in Fes as well). Cats are EVERYWHERE, especially near the produce areas in the old medina. Unfortunately, the vast majority of cats are mangy and afflicted with a variety of health problems such as mites, worms, broken bones, malnourishment, and missing body parts. Although it is uncommon for Moroccans to keep cats as house pets like we do in the US, in general they seem to be treated humanely by villagers and act as communal pets. You can frequently see people stopping to pet the cats or feeding them scraps of food. For example, outside my host family's house someone has left out a box for kittens to sleep in and people leave out leftovers from meals inside it. Although it's heartbreaking to see a 6-week old kitten with a missing eye, for the most part I have really enjoyed all of the cats that flower the streets. And in comparison, I would prefer to see gross kittens over rodents, which would surely be a significant problem in the old medina's littered alleyways.