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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.
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.
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Οι
Περιπέτειες του ΑΣΒΕΣΤΗ |
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Ο γατούλης της
φωτογραφίας ζει στα Εξάρχεια,
είναι αδέσποτος και ταίζεται εδώ
και καιρό από κάποια κυρία. Η
Ευγενία τον τάιζε περιστασιακά και
όταν στις 27 Νοεμβρίου πήγε μια
βόλτα για να δει τι κάνει,
αντίκρυσε την εξής αποτρόπαιη
εικόνα: |
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Καλυμμένος από
ασβέστη, είχε μαζευτεί σε μια
γωνιά και δεν κουνιόταν καθόλου με
έντονα τα σημάδια πόνου στο
προσωπάκι του. Τον έβαλε μέσα σε
ένα χαρτοκιβώτιο και παρόλο που
είναι μεγαλόσωμο ζώο, δεν
αντιστάθηκε πάρα πολύ. Η
κτηνίατρος Πόπη Μαρούλη, μόλις
ενημερώθηκε για την κατάστασή του,
ήρθε αμέσως και τον περιέλαβε.
Ευτυχώς τα μάτια του ήταν σε καλή
κατάσταση, αλλά είχε «λιώσει»
μέρος της γλώσσας επειδή ο
κακόμοιρος προσπαθούσε να
καθαριστεί από τον ασβέστη (στην
κάτω φωτό φαίνεται λίγο η ζημιά
στη γλώσσα). Η Γωγώ, κτηνίατρος
και βοηθός της Πόπης τον κούρεψε
σε στρατιωτικό στυλ το οποίο
διήρκησε κάπου 3 ώρες! Τις
επόμενες ημέρες, όταν διαπιστώθηκε
ότι είχε ξεφύγει τον κίνδυνο και
ότι θα γινόταν σύντομα καλά. ο
μικρός στειρώθηκε, εμβολιάστηκε,
αποπαρασιτώθηκε, καθαρίστηκαν
αυτάκια, δηλαδή με άλλα λόγια
έγινε ένας καινούργιος γάτος.
Μετά από 15 περίπου
ημέρες πήραμε τον «Ασβέστη» και
τον αφήσαμε στο μέρος που ζει.
Τώρα πια βέβαια, η Ευγενία τον
ταίζει κάθε μέρα, καλού κακού!
Και εδώ ο Ασβέστης υγιής,
χαρούμενος και πολυλογάς.
Μια σημαντική
πληροφορία για όσους ασχολούμαστε
με γατάκια: Δεν καθαρίζουμε ΠΟΤΕ
τον ασβέστη με νερό, δημιουργείται
σοβαρό έγκαυμα. Στον κτηνίατρο για
θεραπεία ή κόβουμε με ψαλιδάκι
όπου έχει ασβέστη και μετά
καθαρίζουμε με φαρμακευτικό λάδι,
σαν πρώτες βοήθειες. Μετά
κατευθείαν στον κτηνίατρο.
Δεκ. 08. |
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Jasmine
was rescued by Meredith,
our free of charge web site
constructor and editor 2
months ago, when she heard the
tiny kitten crying out in the
street. As there had been
already cases of poisoning she
picked her up immediately but
couldn't keep her because her
yorkshire terrier babies are
not exactly fond of cats. So
she went into a foster home
where the lady of the house
soon after decided that she
couldn't either keep the
kitten so she went to yet
another foster home, to Sue
(pictured right) who fell
instantly in love with her and
decided to adopt her. She
called the little tabby
Jasmine and we all feel so
happy because one more
abandoned and miserable cat
found a lovely place in
someone's home and heart.
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Cleo
was found abandoned in a
park crying and hungry,
desperate like all the babies
who have lost their mothers.
Ioanna, with her cat trained
ear heard her and picked the
frightened thing up. She was a
lucky one because a friend of
a friend was looking for a
kitten and so little Cleo,
from loneliness and
desperation of the streets
went straight to the loving
arms of Maria who simply
adores her and has made the
apartment into a kitten
paradise with dozens of toys
around. Thank you Maria and
thank you all our friends who
foster or adopt one of our
kittens or cats. |
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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.
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Named
Ulysses by the couple,
the cat was
micro-chipped 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)!
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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.
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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!
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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.
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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! |
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