or skipped care completely. The facility

Yousman zahoor poses for a photograph with her pet cat at her home in Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Saturday, Feb. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Mukhtar Khan)Yousman zahoor poses for a photograph with her pet cat at her home in Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Saturday, Feb. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Mukhtar Khan)

Keeping cats, much like raising, is seen as a stress buster and mood elevator in a region long plagued by conflicts.Split between Pakistan and India but claimed by both in its entirety, Kashmir has recently seen two harsh lockdowns, first in 2019, when Indian Prime Minister Narendra

, and again in 2020, during theA man walks past a pet shop selling Persian cats in Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Monday, March. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Mukhtar Khan)

A man walks past a pet shop selling Persian cats in Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir, Monday, March. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Mukhtar Khan)

More and more people began adopting stray cats during the lockdowns. Children were encouraged to play with them — experts called it pet therapy.. As recently planted trees start bearing fruit in a few years, the region’s avocado production is likely to rise, said Korinne Bell, agricultural commissioner for the county northwest of Los Angeles.

Avocado trees do not come without risks in a region prone to wildfires.Still, demand for the trees has jumped due to interest from lemon growers — and since the

charred Ventura County avocado orchards, said Rob Brokaw, whose family-owned nursery has supplied avocado trees to California growers for 70 years.“Right now we are sold out essentially for this year,” Brokaw said. “And we’re mostly sold out for 2026.”