My first week of October and the straycats

I have been in Thessaloniki for almost 4 weeks now. In the mornings, I spend time in the garden, and in the evenings I work in the office. I’m finally starting to see progress in the garden! It’s becoming cleaner and more organised, and soon I’ll start focusing more on the planting area and other things. Other than that, not much has happened. Mostly I’ve been working, getting more familiar with the work and exploring the neighborhood even more this week.

I have learnt more about the differnet plant in the garden, the health of kittens and the cat mothers. I have learnt more about Erasmus + because in the upcoming weeks we have Erasmus days (now when I'm uploading this, the Erasmus days has already been). I have been to the first Alexperience and got to know more about that. The thing I'm probably most proud of is that I have learnt more Greek, not much, but it's still something!

I have found some stray kittens very close to the garden. I’ve been seeing an orange cat there since I first visited the garden. At first, I thought she was pregnant, but it turned out that she already had four kittens hiding next to the garden. During the first 2 weeks she wouldn’t let me get close to her. However, a few days ago, she approached me and let me pet her for the first time. I spent some time cuddling with her before I went home. 

I usually go to the garden everyday to see and feed the cats, even on my days off. The next day, I came back, and as soon as she saw me, she came towards me to be petted. Later she showed me her little kittens for the first time. I changed their water and gave them new fresh water. I sat down with the mom and filled a bowl with food for her. The kittens were very scared of me at first, but after about 30 minutes, they came to me and the mother to eat and cuddle. 

I’m so happy that the mother cat and the kittens have started to trust and recognise me. It fills me with so much happiness, and I feel like I’m doing something truly good. Even though I can't change the whole world and save every stray cat, I can change the whole world for at least one cat and give her the love she deserves. And for me, that is enough. 

Seeing how shy and scared the mother cat was at first, and now seeing how happy she is when I arrive, how relaxed she has become, and how much she enjoys being petted, that makes me smile so much. Maybe it is because I feed her, but for me it isn't important why she likes me or why she started to trust me. What matters is that she gets fed and receives the love she deserves. 

Every cat, every animal, deserves food, love and a safe home. Unfortunately not everyone cares about them, but I believe that even the smallest acts of kindness can make a huge difference in an animal's life.