Where there is no Wal*Mart

Keeping a pet in Tanzania can be challenging when there aren’t commercialized products to simply go purchase. People ask me how do we do it? A lot of volunteers choose to have cats for rat control, such as us. Others choose to have cats for company to relieve some of the isolation and loneliness that Peace Corps volunteers experience. Some volunteers get dogs for an extra sense of protection. Dogs here are not as domesticated and locals are scared of them.
We feed Lia fish and rice and on occasion eggs:

For litter, Jon rides to a secluded forest where there is lumber foresting and piles of wood shavings. He fills up our huge backpack full of wood shavings and these bags last us for a month of two of litter. Prior to this, we used dirt, but the dirt made our house smell unpleasant real quick. The wood shavings litter works well for nearly a week. I rode with Jon on his last trip to see and take some pictures.

The pile of wood shavings

Bags loaded up with wood shavings

Jon loaded up with wood shavings

We still have one kitten staying with us, but he will go to his new home later this week. Lia loves playing with him, but he has to go to his new home!

Playing with Lia

The baby sleeping