Spyros, the fainting kitten

 

It’s a good job cats have nine lives, because Spyros has already used up four of them. He arrived in one of the central parks where we feed in the engine of a car – having taken refuge in the warm, dark cavity when the car was parked elsewhere. His aggrieved miaows led us to his hiding place, but when we managed to find the owner of the car and persuade her to open the bonnet, Spyros shot out, spitting and swearing, and disappeared into the undergrowth. Deciding it was better to leave him to calm down, we returned the next day to find the little fellow conked out on the grass, damp and limp, surrounded by flies, mouth opening and shutting soundlessly. After a mad rush to the vet on the back of a passing moped, Spyros, astonishingly, was pronounced fine – apart from a wound on his back which looked suspiciously like a dog bite. It appeared that Spyros had been attacked, and simply fainted – at which point the perplexed dog ran away and the kitten’s life was saved. Life on the streets clearly wasn’t an option for this poor accident-prone boy and, thankfully, a cat-loving English couple living on the outskirts of Athens offered to adopt him. Since moving into their country home, Spyros has blown off the balcony in a gust of wind, has choked on a sunflower seed and had to be resuscitated using the Heimlich manoeuvre, and had to visit the vet with an injured paw – at which point he fainted dead away on the examination table! Despite all his mishaps, Spyros is an extremely happy cat, doted upon by his owners and treated as a delicate little brother by his two feline companions, Chassis and Cosmo.

CAT TAILS

The stay-at-home traveller

 

This magnificent long-haired ginger cat used to live, believe it or not, at the public toilets of a central Athens park, after being dumped by his owners. Luckily, his loving personality and handsome looks meant that our pleas for a home were answered at once – by a couple in England whose lookalike ginger cat had recently deceased.

Named Ulysses by the couple, the cat was microchipped and vaccinated for rabies, equipped with a passport, and then prepared to wait the obligatory six-month quarantine before he could enter the UK legally. But it was not to be. Uly’s foster dad fell in love with him during their months together, and when the travel date approached he begged to be able to keep the cat. The English would-be adopters immediately agreed, sensibly saying that if there was a responsible, loving home right here in Athens it would be absurd to put Uly through a flight, and Uly and Zak have lived happily ever after. He even has his own Facebook page, as Odysseas (the Greek version of his name)!

 

The yogi boy [photo grey-white 

Although we have put up countless posters warning people that leaving cats in the park is invariably a death sentence, the dumping continues. In late-summer 2006, a thin, tailless mother cat and her two offspring were abandoned near a popular Athens outdoor cinema.

A small colony of cats lived there, but the spot was occasionally targeted by packs of bored stray dogs, which would pick off the weak, the slow and the uninitiated. The poor mother cat and her terrified daughter swiftly became victims of the dogs. But the remaining kitten managed to stay safe, learning to copy the older cats and to follow them when they leapt up into the trees. This charming boy soon became a favourite with all of us feeders, not only because of his tragic beginnings, but because he grew so friendly and cuddly, always climbing onto one’s lap purring enthusiastically and kneading with his soft paws. Yet we couldn’t find a home for him. Each day would dawn with the fear that the dogs would get him before we could find him a safe home. Days, weeks, months passed, and there was no interest in this beautiful grey-white kitten. But then, finally, a friend of a friend, a yoga teacher, got in touch, saying she had just moved to a house with a garden and would like a kitten. How about a six-month-old cat, we asked. He slept solidly for a week when he first arrived (we often see this: street cats seem to be exhausted from having to keep on guard night and day for danger, and when they get somewhere safe they just want to sleep), then started to explore the house, the garden, the enticing silk curtains… He loves to drink water straight from the tap, he falls asleep purring on a pink cushion that is his safety blanket, and he adores his new mum, Despina. He hasn’t mastered all the yoga moves yet, but he’s a dab hand at the cat posture!

Emily’s home at last!

 

We are thrilled to announce that our precious Emily has a home! This beautiful velvet-coated silver-grey cat, who lived alone at a old public toilet building in central Athens for many years, was fostered by one of our most loyal feeders before Christmas. Initially, this was a temporary arrangement, until a permanent home could be found for her, but Emily is irresistible, and kind Jim has decided that he cannot part with her. “After all she has been through,” he says, “I couldn’t bear to put her through any more changes.” Now nicknamed Emmie-lou – she lives in a country and western household! – she has made friends with Jim’s other rescued cats, and even has a good relationship with his gentle dogs. 

 

We had been trying for months to find her the loving home that she deserved, but to no avail. The place where she was living was not only disgusting but dangerous. Originally, she had three companions with her, but as time passed, they were all killed by dogs. The final straw came was when she became ill in autumn with an infection in her ear. After an operation and a spell at the vet, it was heart-breaking to consider putting her back to face certain death.

Thanks to Jim, she will live out the rest of her days in peace, warmth and safety.

From cast-out to Catbook: POPPY

 

A pretty, sweet-natured, quiet calico abandoned in the park as a kitten, Poppy gently blended in for nearly 10 years, moving from feeding spot to feeding spot and winning the hearts of all us feeders by her insatiable desire for strokes and chin-tickling (as well as her endearing gluttony – quietly stealing her neighbour’s food when she thought you weren’t looking!) But it seemed that she would never be able to have the home she yearned for.

 

But then, one day, she wasn’t there at feeding time. Very unusual for Poppy. We searched and called, and eventually she emerged from the undergrowth, looking frail and pale, dripping saliva. The vet looked inside her mouth, and found a red sore on her tongue. Medication was prescribed, and vitamin paste and soft mousse cat-food to keep her going. The next problem was where to keep her until she finished the treatment.

 

Enter Liz, one of our super foster-mums, who had just got her flat back to normal after nursing our dear old boy, Charlie, through a paw abscess.  She immediately, generously, agreed to take her for a week until she finished the medication. That was a month ago.

 

Despite her long stint living rough, Poppy made herself at home straight away. She still has an insatiable desire for cuddles and strokes, uses Liz's hand or arm as a pillow, and can now do so from the comfort of the sofa or bed. When not cuddling, she enjoys fighting with door wedges, sending them on their way under the sofa, and disappearing into cupboards. She's learnt her name, comes when she's called, and even has her own page on Catbook, through Facebook!