The stray cats of Gaza during the Israel-Hamas war 2023

Of course, during the war all the talk of Gaza is about people. All of it. When animals are mentioned, it is in making unfair and derogatory analogies of Hamas terrorists 'behaving like animals'. That's the best the Israelis can do when it comes to animal welfare. Correction when it comes to animal destruction because there is lots of it in Gaza. 

Screenshot.

We know how many people have been killed in Gaza and how many Israel's were killed by Hamas. We know the latter with complete accuracy. The published number is 'over 1400'. The Palestinian authorities guess the former at around 8,800 at the date of this post but it climbs relentlessly.

Three-thousand children have been killed. How many animals? No idea. Not a clue. No one has said. No one cares. War exposes human speciesism. You can see how devalued animals are in war. They are no more important than a building that has been shelled to destruction.

I think people forget that they are sentient beings. So here is a little nondescript video (below) of a cat sauntering through the rubble of Gaza City. He is a ginger tabby and his nose is very sore. I wonder if he had to push his way through rubble to escape. It was probably something like that.

How does he survive? Where is the water? Water is scarce for people never mind the stray cats. And what about food? Perhaps he lives on his hunting skills. There must be a lot of rodents in the ruins. I don't see food as a major issue for the surviving stray cats of Gaza. But water, yes. A big issue. Look at all the dust and rubbish.

They say a cat can live for 3 days without water. But if they have prey to catch, they can get some water from the prey animal as mammals are 70% water. I reckon these cats will survive as if they are living in the desert like their wild cat ancestor. The domestic cat is well adapted to survive in arid environments.

But it is horrible to see these cats struggling. The same for dogs. We need to think of them a bit more. They are entirely innocent. As innocent as the infants shelled into oblivion or trapped under thousands of tons of rubble.

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P.S. please forgive the occasional typo. These articles are written at breakneck speed using Dragon Dictate. I have to prepare them in around 20 mins.

What is the population of stray cats and dogs in India?

NEWS AND COMMENT: What is the population of stray cats and dogs in India?  Despite the report I mention, we don't know. If we are being honest. In the India language there are 6.2 core stray dogs and 91 lakh stray cats according to a fresh report recently published by the State of Pet Homelessness Index. How accurate are these numbers? How did they count them? Is it possible to count them? No. They are estimates. It took Washington DC a long time and a lot of effort to count their cats in a landmark survey.

Stray cat India. Photo: Pixabay.

A 'core' denotes ten million (10,000,000) and is equal to 100 lakh in the Indian numbering system. A 'lakh' is equal to one hundred thousand (100,000).

Therefore 6.2 core is 62 million. 91 lakh is 9.1 million. I can't believe the cat numbers. Far too low. Perhaps it depends on how you define 'stray'. In India there are community cats. Are these stray cats?

There appears to be an index of stray animal populations called the 'All Pets Wanted' index. India scores 2.4 out of 10.

I think India is known for its stray cats and dogs. Isn't it? There is only one unhappy reason: carelessness and apathy about companion animal welfare. Yes, there is also a lot of the same in developed countries. It is a worldwide phenomenon. But in India and Pakistan for example the problem is more severe.

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The same kind of carelessness which causes so much environmental pollution in India. A great nation let down by these weakness. This is supported by the finding - as reported in One India - that 61 percent of dog owners don't visit the vet (ever!). Is that true? I find that hard to believe too.

The reasons might sound justified: distance and poor reputations or facilities, but ultimately it is down to cat and dog caregivers to find a way. And if these reasons are true there is a failure at government level.

7 in 10 citizens of India see stray cats and dogs weekly.

Clearly a huge percentage of domestic or semi-domestic cats and dogs are not sterilised. They breed and generate a greater stray animal problem. It seems to be out of control. Is anyone doing anything about it?

Let's compare the 85% homeless companion animals in India with the United States (26%), Germany (7%), Greece (51%), China (29%), Mexico (20%), UK (5%), South Africa (27%) and Russia (6%). India is at the bottom by a long way. I can't vouch for these figures. You make up your own mind as to whether they are accurate. I am always dubious about counting stray cats. How do you do it? Where are they? 

In the table below please use the slider below the spreadsheet to read the data on the RHS.

RELATED: 85 percent of companion animals in India are homeless