Our New Cat

There seems to be a BIG problem in Greece with feral cats. You'll see cats everywhere (as in my photos from the ruins of the palace of Galerius) and you'll even see dogs wandering the streets. Apparently, it is not common for Greeks to keep dogs or cats (but especially cats) as indoor pets. They may feed them, but they seem to be generally considered public property (or a public nuissance, as the case may be).

Of course, Pelagia and I wanted to adopt all the stray cats who hang out at our apartment building. We made the mistake of leaving food out for them, and now we're practically besieged by these cats!

Anyway, Pelagia had tried to contact the Greek equivalent of a humane society, to ask if she could volunteer. It turns out they don't really have anything formalized like this. One local group formed about 10 years ago. At one time, they had enough donations to run a small shelter, but recently had to close. Now they use volunteer's homes to nurse wounded cats and small kittens until they can find adoptive homes for them.

Pelagia got in touch with the lady in charge of the local group, and we ended up adopting this little cat. The lady we got him from called him "Marouli," which means "Little Baby." So we call him this, or recently I started calling him "Manouli" because I forgot that it was actually "MaRouli." So this may end up being his name, as soon as we make sure this isn't a curse word in Greek or something.

Pelagia also volunteered with them one evening to try to catch a feral mother cat and get her spayed. These cats are pretty wily, and they weren't able to get it. Anyway, she may volunteer again some time, if she has time. We heard today that our neighbors, the Lillies, may have hooked Pelagia up with a Greek interior designer who might hire her part-time. Thanks be to God! What a great job!