Charming a young heart

By Alexia Saleem

My children are obsessed with cats. So much so that I actually considered getting one for their birthday last year. We currently live in a flat, so it seemed like the ideal pet. My husband, however, is allergic and has his heart set on a dog when we have a house with a garden.

Nevertheless, that didn’t stop me from looking online for family friendly breeds. I came to the conclusion that the Scottish Fold was the cat for us. I even went so far as to ask a pet shop if they are available in Cyprus. Apparently, they are but I would have to act quickly and pay up front. I wouldn’t be able to see the litter or meet the breeder.

It all felt a little hurried, so I decided to wait. Also, like I said, my husband is allergic, so I wasn’t sure if I wanted the responsibility of a pet and what about when we travel? At the time Covid-19 wasn’t a thing. I was also told that two four-year-olds might frighten the life out of a cat and that maybe I should reconsider my choice of pet as it wouldn’t be fair on the animal.

Looking back, I was opting for what felt for the safest option because I didn’t know any different. Which is surprising because as a child I owned two street cats. One followed me home and the other I found and rescued with my sister after it had been hit by a car. But for some reason a street cat wasn’t the first option that came to mind when I was thinking of getting a pet.

That all changed last October when we were taking a walk along the Pedieos River Linear Park. Anyone who has taken that walk will know that there are dozens of stray cats along the path. I was surprised how many of them there are because I am all too familiar with stories of animal cruelty on the island and I know, although have never understood why, street cats are particularly disliked by people, who often go out of their way to get rid of them.

At the time, taking a stray home with me was the furthest thing from my mind.

Truth be told, I didn’t really want to touch them and wasn’t that comfortable with my kids trying to stroke them. What if they had ringworm or scratched them? A lot of my fear was ignorance and past conditioning.

But then we met Nadia. She has not only built shelters for the cats and feeds them daily but has had most of them vaccinated and spayed. When they’re sick, she has them treated by the vet. She has also told me which ones are children friendly and which ones less so. Such is her love for the cats that she has set up a website dedicated to re-homing the animals and before Covid many of them found new homes in her native Germany.

I was surprised to hear the cats are spayed, since there are often a lot of kittens among the older cats. But, apparently, these are abandoned by people whose own cats have had kittens. They literally just dump them in the park hoping someone else will feed them. I try not to judge, but why not spay their own cat so that this isn’t a problem? There are one or two that Nadia has not been able to neuter because they only come out when she brings food and are too terrified to allow her close to them. I think one of them is currently pregnant and we might very well be adopting a kitten soon.

My twins and niece are of course enamoured with the cats and want to take them all home. In fact, I’ve noticed that nearly all children love cats and dogs, irrespective of how their parents might feel. Children have an open heartedness that allows them to love everything and everyone until they are taught not to by other people or learn not to through their own life experiences.

The three of them have become particularly fond of the one Nadia calls Robin, although they call him Fluffy. Robin is over a year old now and extremely friendly. He’s actually come to recognise our voices and runs over to greet us. I feel an indescribable joy when he bounds over to say hello. Although he used to not mind being picked up, these days Robin prefers to be left alone. If he wants to sit on your lap, he will. If he doesn’t, he won’t.

Last time we were there one of the children kissed Robin. I know because I was told off for letting them do so by a concerned passer-by. Momentarily taken aback for being scolded, I resorted to laughing. It continues to bemuse me that complete strangers love to tell me how to raise my children. I’m not saying I know what I’m doing, but I’m not sure they do either.

Regardless, we continue to visit the cats and sometimes the children still kiss Robin goodbye.

I’m not sure if we will end up getting a cat or not, but I do know this. If we do, we’re getting one of the many kittens left abandoned in the park.