Topic: A dedication to the Stray Cats on Halki, Greece... (and dogs too!) (Read 2962 times)

clarenmax · « **Reply #5 on:** October 17, 2008, 11:07:34 AM »

Awww, gorgeous kitties

It was the same when I went to the Greek Islands years ago, the restaurant owners used to ask us not to feed the cats, but I think everyone did!

I remember sitting on a beach in Kalithea with 3 adorable kittens sitting next to me on my lounger

Tiggy's Mum · « **Reply #4 on:** October 17, 2008, 10:11:44 AM »

I guess so, at least this group have that local man to feed them when the tourist season is over. Still would be nice if they all had their own human bed to curl up on every night. Cousin Riley is beautiful too

tigerbaby · « **Reply #3 on:** October 17, 2008, 00:21:37 AM »

That's it, me and OH talked about it, and at least the cats are born into it so they don't know any difference, plus they all get so spoiled by all visitors (think it's safe to say there were a good few 'mad cat people' there - even a few ladies who were allergic to cats were seen feeding them!)

Let's try the Riley picture again, maybe that should be Cousin Riley instead.

Tiggy's Mum · « **Reply #2 on:** October 17, 2008, 00:06:19 AM »

Gorgeous pics, it's so sad isn't it - all those cats who will probably never know their own home

Makes you realise just how lucky our own cats are. I wonder if all the visitors give the cats their own names, that's so sweet

Couldn't see 'Riley's' pic though - it says this image has been moved or deleted.

tigerbaby · « **Reply #1 on:** October 16, 2008, 23:43:22 PM »

I just got back from holiday in Greece - we went to Halki, a small, unspoilt, gorgeous, non-touristy place. Simple and primitive, with a few tavernas, a couple of supermarkets, no nightclubs and gorgeous beaches. It was peaceful and relaxing, stunning views, amazingly friendly locals and like-minded visitors who just wanted a quiet holiday.

There was quite a large number of stray cats, that obviously caught my attention! They gathered around the tables outside the tavernas, waiting and hoping that someone would 'drop' a piece of chicken on the floor. And of course we all did - everyone did.
The cats were very friendly, some very healthy looking, others looked like they had been caught in a battlefield - still affectionate though. A local cat-loving man buys them food and feeds them on regular basis, or whenever he can afford to. Once (or twice) a year, a vet comes to the island to neuter and spay - you could tell which ones had been done because they had their ears marked.
In the tourist information office they had a free library, where tourists could put a small donation towards catfood - I put all our change in the box!
On our balcony we had 2 gorgeous black young cats (around 6 months would be my guess); I named one Little Spook and OH named the other one Fred. Then we had the kitty of all kittys, also a young little boy (not yet done!), that just stole everybodys heart. We called him Roulla, as that was the name of our apartment. One evening he sneaked in to our apartment and made himself comfy on our bed.. it was very hard to put him outside. He was so affectionate and purred so loud the whole bed vibrated. I even went to talk to the holiday rep about the adopting procedure to see if that was possible. It was, but quite complicated, what with vet trips to and from Rhodes (an hour on a boat each way!) for treatments and tests, and then quarantine.

The dogs on the other hand didn't seem to be that well looked after. Chained up as 'watch dogs' they were stood barking all day. Apparently Greeks don't really treat dogs the way we would like them to treat them... although the dogs seemed quite friendly you could tell they desperately needed a good offlead run and some affection!

I took many photos of the cats (and dogs) and figured I should post them here, as a little dedication to them - instead of having them just sitting in my camera. Every single one of them was special in their own way, and I had to admit that being around them made it a little easier being apart from Jameson (if only for a week!). I kept telling the cats that I was a friendly cat meowmy to a tabby back in a country far away

Little Spook and Fred, our balcony kittys.

Roulla, who caught my heart!! (his facial expressions reminded me of Memphis!!

Cuddling up on their chosen bed for the night...

A dog guarding sheep

Same doggy

This gorgeous doggy was tied up in a corner - no idea what his 'purpose' was, but he was clearly desperate for love - I just wanted to take him out for a walk!!!

Begging nicely by our table

This cutie wouldn't stop purring, notice how there is something weird going on with the mouth - maybe it's been in a fight?

<img src="http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b159/helenalinder/PA100407.jpg"
A friendly lizard sunbathing on a rock!!

I actually named this one Riley - because of the gorgeous grey coloured coat.

One night we came home to this.... (look at that face

)

How can you kick something like this out of bed?

That's right, you CAN'T!

Fussing over a random dog in the street...

This is Meowmy (we think she might be the mummy to some kittens), making herself comfy in our apartment

This little creature didn't like ANY other cats at all. He would hiss, spit, growl and we heard several fights outside and suspect that he was involved in quite a few of them. Here he came in with a fresh wound. I fed him OHs lunch mackerel (OH not so happy, but got over it)

Here he is again, we named him Trouble. Looks like he just came back from another battle, judging from his bloody paw.
He was very affectionate - but only with humans.

This is Spicy - a very vocal cat - who tried to 'talk' to Trouble but just got spat at. Apart from when I fed them mackerel - they happily ate next to each other, but as soon as the plates were licked clean Trouble turned around and chased Spicy out.

This is me, and Tiger Junior in ''Tabby Alley'' - we named this alley after the large amount of tabby kittens that live there. We walked through the alley every day and I kept stopping to stroke them, but they were too wary of humans to allow that.