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 Fortunately, not many dogs were dumped in Skala this summer so our focus is on winter feeding the stray cats. The main problem areas are the cats at the abandoned building opposite the Galaxy supermarket at the top of the high street and those near the Pines at the bottom. Jean & I do a shift each every day and every time one of us goes to Argostoli, we try to catch a cat and take it to the vet for neutering.
 In addition food is provided to the Marietta hotel for Geoffrey and any other cats who turn up there (just 2 so far) and to the Makis hotel where they have a family of cats on site. At both places there are people who have volunteered to take care of the cats over the winter.
Cat flu is a constant problem so we try to slip antibiotics into the food but it’s a bit of a nightmare because you never know how much each cat is getting and tyically, the ones who eat it aren’t the ones who need it the most. Needless to say it isn’t often you can catch a stray cat to get a pill down its throat. Fortunately, however, worming has become less of a problem since we discovered Panacur Favourites For Cats which are wormers they love so much they fight over them as treats. Pat at KATs has to buy them in bulk from the UK but we were fortunate enough to catch her after she’d just stocked up so we’ve been able to worm the ferals which goes a long way to improving their general condition.
We raised more money than ever before in Skala this year. The grand total actually came to 2,560 euros including Nickie’s 700. Of course it goes quickly but one of the important things we’ve done with it is to buy a trapper cage and a trap transfer restrainer from the UK. In English that means a cage which snaps shut on a wild cat who enters it after food and a carry cage you can slip it into from there. When you need it, the carry cage also has a moving wall which squashes the cat to one side so the vet can give it an anaesthetic injection through the cage without getting mauled and then administer whatever treatment is necessary.
 On a personal note, being a bit of a pushover, I’ve weakened again and taken in one of the Galaxy cats. Charlie is probably about 8 months old and to begin with he was underweight, with manky fur, wormy and full of cold. He’s an incredibly loving cat who craves attention constantly. Fortunately, he is also one of the cats you are able to get a pill down, though the cold is clinging on. There’s a lot of adjustment going on at the house at the moment but - watch this space
March 2006: Read the follow-up here
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