cats of Crete

in Crete there are cats and kittens everywhere! sadly, it seems

that none (or maybe very few) have had the benefit of seeing a

Veterinarian so the most common sight is scruffy cats great with

kitten and scruffy scrawny toms in stand-off with equally scruffy

toms. also, there’s a LOT of yowling going on. many of these are

totally feral and frightened, but depend on handouts wherever they

can find them.

when we were here last fall a very small pitifully young and

undernourished kitten wandered into our courtyard. we poured

milk for him, put out cheese and meat scraps. i named “him”

Hercules because he really needed a big strong name... he needed

all the help his pitiful self could get. it took a couple of weeks before

we could get near without him scurrying away. slowly, gradually

we could get closer and closer. by the time i left, the little kitten had

begun to put on weight and his spine and ribs were no longer visible

thru the fur, i was able to get close enough to determine that “he”

was a “she”, and the name changed to Herculina, and she would let

me pet her. i was so sad to leave her and hoped that she’d gotten

enough of a start that she’d make it in the cruel world of cats in

Crete. I’ve been on the look-out for her since we’ve been here and

have been disappointed to not see her.... until last night. there she

was INSIDE at Bloumosifi - not really common inside the taverna.

there was a little girl who really wanted to play with her so i gave

her a piece of yarn, she tied a cork onto it and they had a great game

going on.... with Herculina participating wholeheartedly. what a

delight! when the girl left, the cat made the rounds looking for hand-

outs and of course, i contributed. ended up she crawled up into my

lap for cuddles and was quite well-behaved. glad i had my camera

with me!!

ETA - tonight (4/15) i found out that Herculina is now living the good life! the family of the child who was playing with her at the taverna have adopted her for at least the 2 weeks of their vacation in Crete and just

might take her back to England with them! bravo for her good life!!