Crazy cat lady checking in ;-)

Walking down the back of The Acropolis, we ran into a homeless man playing a wooden flute, seemingly holding court with an audience of music-loving stray cats. Such a beautiful sight and one I’ll always remember, but I felt my camera would’ve been an intrusion, so I kept walking.

A bit further on, we encountered another gang of cats…

Stray cats are part of the Athenian landscape, and people seem to kindly accept them. I wrote in an earlier post about the cat that wandered into the wine bar without anyone batting an eye. The black kitten and the tabby pictured above make their home base at a café whose owner feeds and waters them, and I even saw a security guard at the Parliament building petting a stray. It makes me happy to see people treating animals kindly, and this left me with a very positive impression of Greeks.

Overall, the cats seem to be well cared for, which sadly wasn’t the case in Thailand. I just hope there’s a trap and spay/neuter program in Athens and that people look out for them when they’re sick. Animals have a big and special place in my heart and their suffering is difficult for me to reconcile. It’s amazing I managed to leave Thailand without a suitcase full of stray cats ;-)