The weather here has been very changeable recently – some days sunshine, most days rain and occasionally a gigantic thunderstorm. The local news is full of stories of flooding and 6 metre waves lashing the coast. As today was a festa we drove up to the Costa Brava to see the sea.
It wasn’t really stormy by Cornish standards but fairly bracing and pleasantly quiet on the beaches. We had lunch in Lloret de Mar which in summer is a nightmare of tourists and traffic and, like so many beautiful coastal towns has been blighted by the Francoist property developers in the 60’s and 70’s. But if you turn your back on the ugly apartment blocks and look out to sea it is stunning. 
There is a colony of wild cats living here.They were more tame than their city cousins – it is unusual to be able to stroke a street cat but these ones were heart-breakingly interested in getting close. I want to write more about the cats I meet here soon – they have a tough life. People feed them but it’s not easy on the streets. There was one tortoiseshell here in Lloret who wound her way around my legs and seemed accustomed to being with humans. She was very thin although her fur was soft and glossy. Of course I thought about taking her home but what does this ‘rescue’ mean? Would life as a well fed city cat without a garden be better than being part of this wild free colony by the beach? What do you think?
Oh, Kate, the same thing happened to us this weekend! We were driving up to France to take advantage of the ‘pont’ and stopped at a rest area just outside Girona. There in the parking lot was a little tortoise shell cat who came right over and let us pet her. She was so friendly we thought someone had abandoned her… We stayed for almost an hour thinking about it and talking about it (we were on our way to France!) and almost took her with us.
But when I saw the rest of her family, two siblings and a very small mom, it suddenly shifted for me. She wasn’t abandoned, she was living in a relatively pleasant rest stop with trees and shelter. Would it have been better to be dragged all over before returning to our very small apartment with no access to the outdoors? I’m not at all sure. And so we ended up leaving her where she was (after buying her a bunch of cat food!)
Many years ago, I did rescue a kitten that lived in a planter near the big black La Caixa building on Diagonal. She was very, very skittish for years, friendly with me, but absolutely terrified of anyone else.
It’s such a hard call.
Dear Liz What a coincidence! Thinking about it later I am pretty sure it is better sometimes to leave cats where they are But if I found one alone, not part of an established colony, in an unsafe situation then it would be different. Perhaps when we live in the country I will have a colony of my own who can chose to live inside or out and wander free! But of course I am still thinking of those cats yesterday – obviously kitten season has just finished and there were lots of small ones- jumping around and playing and really not looking in too bad shape. But what about when winter comes? It is really more worrying about the colony who lives at the end of my road – right beside a busy main street and with only a tiny square of grass and trees to sleep in. Someone feeds them but they do look a bit ragged. None ever allow you to come close. And, rescuing apart, I am missing a cat in my home but resist as I don’t like to have one without a garden. Thanks for your message. Do you live in Barcelona? We must meet up one day. Take care, Kate
Interesting blog about how you’ve settled in, seeing the surrounding countryside and getting to grips with Catalan. Thankyou.
I came to you via Two Crumblies and a Cat (Di) who I check out regularly.
I’m on the windy Costa de la Luz coast, fetched up here from Penzance 7 years ago. Used to go to Dr. Annie in the Natural Health Centre for acupuncture.
Dear LadyLuz thanks for your kind words – I’m reading through your lovely blog now. Want to leave a comment but for some computery reason I can’t get onto the comment page! And there is no email for you tampoc! would be great to be in touch and find out if we ever met in Penzance! Will try again later but meanwhile get in touch if you read this. Best wishes Kate
Hi Kate
I meant to comment on the cat situation and got sidetracked with the Pz stuff. A hard decision about rescuing cats, especially those in an established colony. Cats seem more orientated to place rather than people, don’t you think, and would miss their familiar haunts if taken away. Of the few colonies down here, I know they get fed regularly by a few women. Our two rescued Siamese don’t roam further than our large garden.
I’m sorry my comments thingy won’t work properly. You can contact me at gallagherdotpamatgmaildotcom