Even Cuba's stray cats are feeling the heat as crisis deepens

Cuban Gabriela Lopez runs a rescue center called ​Aldameros that would melt the heart of any cat lover. Cats ​of all shapes and sizes slink about, ‌purring after ​being fed and caressing the legs of workers.

But all is not well here. The communist-run island early this year plunged into unprecedented economic and social crisis as stiffened U.S. sanctions and a fuel blockade imposed ‌by the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump have pushed the population of 9 million people to the brink. The center, like the population at large, has little water now, despite its central Havana location, just a couple hours of electricity daily and costs are soaring alongside inflation, says Lopez.

“Before, we could store ‌food for a few days, but now we live day to day because we have no (cold storage). As for water, we have to ‌maintain good hygiene, but there are problems with supply," she says, exhausted by the seemingly endless problems she rattles off in an interview. "These are small issues that, when you look at them as a whole, add up to a major problem."

Animals, she says, are just the latest casualty of deepening shortages that have begun to impact virtually every ⁠facet of life ​in Cuba. Still, the cats strolling about ⁠the center look unfased despite the problems in their midst. At lunch time they meow and push their way to plastic bowls of pureed scrap chicken, fish and vegetables. After ⁠the mid-day meal, they roll over, belly up, and rub their backs on the floor. But Havana-based veterinarian Daniel Hernandez says the problems go far beyond what meets ​the eye, as the country`s clinics struggle to keep medications and vaccines on hand amid deepening shortages.

"The biggest problem we face is a ⁠steady power supply, (to maintain) refrigeration for medications such as vaccines and other drugs that require a cold chain to ensure they function properly," Hernandez said. "This is really stressful." Rising costs, meanwhile, have ⁠forced ​volunteer centers like Lopez`s Aldameros to seek alternative food supplies, often unsuccessfully. Businesses that once donated food scraps now seek to sell them instead, she said.

"They realized there was a market," Lopez said. To make matters worse, prices soar while donations have dried up alongside the country`s tourism ⁠sector, says Claudia Diaz, a volunteer coordinator for Cubans in Defense of Animals (CEDA), a non-governmental group of animal rights activists.

“With fewer tourists coming (to ⁠Cuba), we have lost a significant source ⁠of income both in the form of supplies and cash," Diaz said. Those donations, she says, once underpinned pest control campaigns, helped centers like Aldameros stay afloat and promoted animal rescue and vaccination campaigns. "We`re doing everything we ‌can to stay open," ‌said Lopez. "But it's hard (in these conditions) without any help."