For the cat lovers

So I've been in Greece for almost 6 months now and ever since I have only seen one skinny cat. All the rest above medium weight. It seems everybody is well fed here, even stray animals, which is great :)

Shortly after I arrived, I was already flirting with the idea of adopting a pet, as I cannot conceive a life/house without at least an animal (a four legged one, no metaphors implied). So I started to study the virtual market and ran across several non profit organizations which are doing a great job in rescuing and fostering stray animals in Athens: http://stray-life.gr/ , http://www.zoofilia.gr/pages.asp, http://www.pets.gr/.

Still undecided, I also began to study the real market right under my nose. Throughout my long walks to the sea, I discovered that somewhere close to the first beach in Faliro as you pass the harbor, between the sea and the rocks, lies a land of cats. They do not always reveal their presence or if they do, they are quite subtle, you need to look closely in order to see them. They seem to live under the rocks by the edge of the sea and they appear to be very well adapted to their kingdom of sand and salt. They are, of course, very fat, as all respectable Greek cats. I fell in love with the grey and white princess and wanted to grab her tail and take her home, but she looked at me as if she were completely disgusted with my manners, so I changed my mind ashamed. Every time I pass by, I take a few moments to look at them, it's quite relaxing to watch them come out in the sun from underneath the rocks and stretch and lie there by the water like a group of lazy mermaids.

The Princess

 

 Moving on, one day I found the Greek replica of the cat I left in my home country and which I miss a lot, it was standing under a tree and staring at me, I tried to catch it, but failed.

Greek replica

The original

So finally the destiny brought me face to face with the chosen one. It was raining, she was crying under a car, dirty like the filthiest of pigs and skinny! I brought her home confident that she would become a very well educated and stylish cat. Now, after 5 months, she is somehow cleaner and fatter, but her manners have not improved much. Not an aristocat in any case, I gave up my hopes a while ago, see what I mean below.

*blue shrimp*