Dog lover or cat lover, or both? We’d say you’re an animal lover. Meet a Greek castle cat who turned a dog lover into a cat lover.
Greece continues to be a favorite tourist destination. It’s a beautiful country with lovely beaches, dramatic mountains and charming villages. Greece is also home to western civilizations most famous achievements from the ancient world. Throughout the country are fortresses, churches and mosques, museums, archeological sites, convents and castles. In the village of Nafplio lies Akronafplia Castle, perched on a bluff.
photo by Steve Dunaif © 2022. photo by shari smith dunaif © 2022
In October, My Kitty Care traipsed up the hill to Akronafplia Castle, where the view of the town of Nafplio spread out below. And, that’s where we saw the small, black castle cat.
photo by shari smith dunaif © 2022
Before we opened a can of cat food (which we always travel with) we noticed an empty can on the rocks.
Sitting a few feet away was Claude-Alexander. He’s a dog lover and always travels with dog food and treats.
“It’s not that I don’t like cats,” he added, “I just don’t know much about them.”
photo by shari smith dunaif ©2022
From his home in Germany, Claude-Alexander drove south. En route to Greece he stopped along the way to enjoy Croatia’s coastline and sometimes ventured inland to hike mountains and explore villages. He continued to Greece, enjoying the magnificent vistas and history.
While in Greece he encountered stray cats and offered them dog treats. Greece has stray cats everywhere and although they look relatively healthy, they always need another meal. Soon enough, Claude-Alexander added cans of cat food and cat treats to his charitable supplies.
The sweet castle cat endeared herself to Claude-Alexander. He pet her and smiled, she purred.
He even considered adopting her and naming her Claudine or Claudette. But he had an itinerary and it didn’t include a cat.
photo by shari smith dunaif © 2022
A week later, in an email sent to My Kitty Care, Claude-Alexander said he regretted not bringing the castle cat home. He clearly researched traveling in Europe with a cat and found the following requirements: a rabies vaccination, being microchipped and a pet passport. He also wanted advice about cats living in a small apartment, and other questions about cats — which My Kitty Care gladly addressed.
photo by shari smith dunaif © 2022
We think one day, dog lover and now also cat lover Claude-Alexander, will rescue a cat making him and the lucky cat very happy.
Thanks for sharing the cat’s and my story! Since the story went on after we had met, I have added a few lines on Facebook. This experience has surely changed my life for the better.