There are very few indoor cats in Magganitis. People throw food to feral cats for part of the year, but when many of the Ikarians leave the village for the winter, the cats must fend for themselves.
We met these two sisters when they were tiny kittens, only about a month old. They were malnourished, as was their mother. All are infected with parasites, get ticks regularly, and have bouts of diarrhea frequently. We have been feeding these cats for about two months, and they are well on their way to adolescence.
This kitten, who is a little smaller than her two sisters, was the first to contract cat flu as a baby, and may have had her growth stunted. Cat flu is rampant in feral cat populations, and can be serious in kittens.
This cat is about to sneak into the kitchen of this taverna to look for food. When it gets kicked out, it comes begging to us. When that doesn’t work, it contents itself with eating a fly.
This enormous cat, named Mustafa, hangs out at BouBoukakia. He can look big and sometimes intimidating, and clearly gets into a fair number of brawls, but he’s perfectly friendly toward humans.
This cat, though also sizable himself, is smaller than Mustafa and is considered lower on the dominance chain. He spends most of his time hanging about BouBoukakia meowing for attention and provoking Mustafa.
BouBou is the only person we know of here who not only feeds the feral cats, but also gives them worm medicine every few months and removes their ticks.
BouBou claims to have once owned 44 cats. Though she now feeds several feral cats, the only cat she allows inside is this large orange cat named FriFriko.
Every cat has its spot in the village. This cat hangs out at Cafe Pantepoleion and is affectionate with absolutely everything, whether it is alive or not.
We call this kitten “Little White Kitty.” He is an exceptionally tiny cat and does not appear to be growing much at all. He is the most affectionate cat we’ve met here, and purrs non-stop. When we feed him, he is more interested in being petted than eating food. Sometimes we have to stand out of sight while he eats so he doesn’t see us and lose interest in the kibble. When we leave home, he frequently trots after us happily, following us to wherever we are going and waiting outside the door until we’re done – not because he’s hungry, but because he likes our company. This has gotten him into trouble with some of the bigger cats who “own” the territory he wanders into when he follows us. He doesn’t seem cut out to be a feral cat, and we hope he survives after we leave next month. We love you, Little White Kitty!