• Menu
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Before Header

  • About
  • World Map
  • Work With Us
  • Disclosure/Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact Us

Budget Travel Talk

Road Trips Caravan Camping Australia

  • Home
  • Our Blog
  • Destinations
    • Australia Travel Blog
      • New South Wales
      • Queensland
        • Cairns
        • Sunshine Coast
        • Townsville
      • Tasmania
    • Asia
      • Cambodia
      • Japan
      • Laos
      • Singapore
      • Thailand
      • Vietnam
    • Americas
      • Canada
      • U.S.A.
    • Europe
      • Bosnia and Hercegovina
      • Croatia
      • Italy
      • Montenegro
      • Portugal
      • Slovenia
      • Spain
      • Turkey
        • Istanbul
    • Africa
      • Morocco
    • New Zealand / Pacific
  • Journey
    • Road Trips
    • Trains
    • Boat Trips
  • Travel Tips
    • Reviews
    • Destination Guides
    • Itineraries
    • Self Guided Walking Tours
    • Travel Resources
    • Budget Tips
    • Buying Guides
    • Interviews
  • Accommodation
    • Airbnb
    • Caravan Parks
    • Free Camping
    • Hotels
    • Housesitting
  • Experience
    • Food to Love
    • Festivals
    • Markets
    • Palaces and Castles
    • Ruins
    • Short Walks
    • Street Art
    • Bike Rides
  • Search
  • Home
  • Our Blog
  • Destinations
    • Australia Travel Blog
      • New South Wales
      • Queensland
        • Cairns
        • Sunshine Coast
        • Townsville
      • Tasmania
    • Asia
      • Cambodia
      • Japan
      • Laos
      • Singapore
      • Thailand
      • Vietnam
    • Americas
      • Canada
      • U.S.A.
    • Europe
      • Bosnia and Hercegovina
      • Croatia
      • Italy
      • Montenegro
      • Portugal
      • Slovenia
      • Spain
      • Turkey
        • Istanbul
    • Africa
      • Morocco
    • New Zealand / Pacific
  • Journey
    • Road Trips
    • Trains
    • Boat Trips
  • Travel Tips
    • Reviews
    • Destination Guides
    • Itineraries
    • Self Guided Walking Tours
    • Travel Resources
    • Budget Tips
    • Buying Guides
    • Interviews
  • Accommodation
    • Airbnb
    • Caravan Parks
    • Free Camping
    • Hotels
    • Housesitting
  • Experience
    • Food to Love
    • Festivals
    • Markets
    • Palaces and Castles
    • Ruins
    • Short Walks
    • Street Art
    • Bike Rides
  • Search
Essaouira Cat Family in a Box

Essaouira-Cat City

June 3, 2012 By Jan Robinson 1 Comment

This post may contain compensated links. We may earn a small percentage if you book through a compensated link, but it won’t cost you any more by doing so. You can read our full disclaimer here.


We recently spent seven weeks in Spain, Morocco and Portugal (Lisbon).  I first noticed the plethora of cats in Spain.  In the village where we house sat for two weeks, there were many strays.  They were semi taken care of by the village.  Scraps were thrown from windows and dropped under tables on the hotel’s terrace.  Despite this some of them were in a bad way due to cat fights.  According to locals the stray cat population has gotten out of control since the stray dog population has been controlled.  It was true that we did not notice any stray dogs.
However the Spanish village cats were nothing compared to Marrakech’s cats.  Those survivors skulked in lanes and were a mangy looking lot.  Their coats were dull and matted – pickings were slim in the souks.
But, Essaouira, 170 km west of Marrakech, was definitely, hands down, cat city.  They ran to a sleeker breed on the coast.  The fishermen were generous with their catch.  Guts and offcuts fed the port area cats.  There were some good looking specimens.  In town I saw the kebab man place a piece of white paper on the ground and spread out sliced chicken meat for one lucky tabby.  It may or may not have been his cat, but it was an act of kindness.

Healthy kitten in Essaouira
In the 50’s and 60’s Essaouira was on the hippy trail, and I think all that free lovin’  must have rubbed off in cat land, because everywhere  there were expectant cats waddling along.  Those who had already produced their litter were given cardboard boxes for their broods.  I lost count of the number of cardboard box cat families we came across in Essaouira.  My camera card became clogged with cat photography.

Essaouira Cat Family in a Box

Our riad had a newspaper article about this organization who visit Essaouira biannually to help neuter and treat the strays.  The amount of cats in Essouira was astounding – the fact that they were much healthier than those of Marrakech was no doubt due to their efforts.

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative
Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License

 *  MAGIC Happens!

When you SHARE A POST or LEAVE A COMMENT

 RELEASE YOUR INNER MAGICIAN TODAY!

More from my site

  • Hoi Polloi Townsville with a side of Townsville Street ArtHoi Polloi Townsville with a side of Townsville Street Art
  • Morocco works its magic in Jemaa el Fna!Morocco works its magic in Jemaa el Fna!
  • Tuesday in Townsville Picnic Bay Magnetic IslandTuesday in Townsville Picnic Bay Magnetic Island
  • Coloured Glass CongressColoured Glass Congress
  • Galata is the best place for a first time stay in IstanbulGalata is the best place for a first time stay in Istanbul
  • Tuesday in Townsville The Queens Gardens Part 2Tuesday in Townsville The Queens Gardens Part 2

Filed Under: Morocco

About Jan Robinson

Jan Robinson writes about travel on her Budget Travel Talk blog. A solo traveller in her teens, for the last 40 years Jan has travelled through Australia, Asia, Europe, Turkey and New Zealand with her husband. They specialise in road trips, caravanning and Independent travel without spending a fortune. Her favourite destination is Turkey and she is currently dreaming of Myanmar and Mexico.

Previous Post: «Gorganzola and Pear Ravioli at the Woki Organic Market, Barcelona Woki Organic Market – Barcelona
Next Post: Morocco works its magic in Jemaa el Fna! View from the Le Grand Balcon du Cafe Glacier (the small piece of the L Shape)»

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

Follow Us

Categories

Budget Travel Talk's posts relating to Australia Budget Travel Talk's posts relating to Townsville Budget Travel Talk's posts relating to Bosnia Budget Travel Talk's posts relating to Cambodia Budget Travel Talk's posts relating to Canada Budget Travel Talk's posts relating to Croatia Budget Travel Talk's posts relating to Italy Budget Travel Talk's posts relating to Laos Budget Travel Talk's posts relating to Montenegro Budget Travel Talk's posts relating to Morocco Budget Travel Talk's posts relating to New Zealand Budget Travel Talk's posts relating to Slovenia Budget Travel Talk's posts relating to Spain Budget Travel Talk's posts relating to Turkey Budget Travel Talk's posts relating to the United States of America Budget Travel Talk's posts relating to Vietnam

Pinterest

Visit Budgettraveltalk's profile on Pinterest.

Top Australian and New Zealand Blogger for 2017

Im-a-Top-Australian-and-New-Zealand-Travel-Blogger-for-2017-Medium-Rectangle-300x250px (1)

Mature Bloggers Australia

Mature Bloggers Australia

Footer

Most Popular Posts

Whitsundays on a Budget – How to Get to Whitehaven Beach

Romantic Things for Couples to do in Rome including Valentines Day

Things to Do in Huskisson and Jervis Bay

Hobart to Bruny Island: Tours from Hobart or Self Drive Bruny Island?

Ferry to Eyup Istanbul for Pierre Loti views and Eyup Sultan Istanbul Mosque 2018

About Jan & Marty

We are Jan and Marty and we love travel.

The best thing about being in our 60’s is that our travel budget is flexible, allowing us to enjoy great experiences, good food and fun people. As with most things in life, it’s all about priorities.

Copyright © 2022 Budget Travel Talk - Journey. Destination. Experience.