Lovable Olli
A lot of people in Almerimar will remember Olli from when he was a stray cat in the port, particularly yachties as I heard he had a tendency to wander onto people’s boats. In fact when I first heard about Olli it was as a ‘nuisance’ that needed castrating urgently. This was the plan to give him the snip and then set him free again where he would get fed by the very kind people, (Pam, George & Jean etc.) who keep our stray cats here healthy and I must say very well nourished!
That plan changed when I first met Olli as he charmed me from the first moment, and if I hadn’t already had a beautiful male cat, I know that he would now be mine. He sniffed my hand, let me stoke him and then rolled right over to have his tummy rubbed. This I decided was no ‘stray’ cat; this was an abandoned pet. I have said before that these are the ones I feel most sorry for. They tend to struggle to fend for themselves and get picked on by the more feral stray animals. They also miss and crave human contact. Olli fitted the profile exactly; he was very thin, covered in scratches and sores, filthy dirty and desperate for affection. Anyone who criticises the kind people who feed the stray animals really should think again and remember that no animal deserves to be thrown out and abandoned to its fate, and that whilst a lot of our Almerimar strays are born in the wild, there are many who are not. So maybe it is time to think again and to have a little more compassion.
Anyway back to Olli. I became his sponsor and after a couple of months delay, due to the problems at the cat rescue home, and a few days with me to sort out his slightly dodgy stomach ready for travel, Olli set off for Germany on November 7th after a fond farewell.
Saying Goodbye
Pam and I were both awake at times in the night worrying about him on his 24hr journey, and wondering if he would miss us, but you will see from the first pictures of him in Germany, that our lovely boy arrived safely and was busy charming his new friends from the start!
Being Charming In Germany
Being Charming In Germany
Olli’s life then got even better as within a few days he had found a permanent ‘family’ and as you can see from these last pictures, he now has a new best friend in life. I am so pleased that I helped this beautiful animal and that he now has a safe and loving home for the rest of his life.
With His New Best Friend
With His New Best Friend
AND FINALLY from me and from Olli thank you to Pam, Gisela, Cony (in Germany) and anyone else who helped Olli towards his new life. All our efforts were definitely worthwhile!
Olli’s story makes all the hard work and heartache worthwhile and spurs me on these cold mornings at 8 am when I am doing the rounds to feed all the hungry cats who are always sitting waiting for me.Please dont throw your food scraps away give them to the stray cats – especially the colony on the rocks behind the Varadero – where there are 7 female cats, 1 absolutely huge ginger tom and a big black tom – all are desperate for affection and food.Our aim is to collect sufficient money to get the females spayed as soon as possible.The 2 black cats and Siamese by Alldays have all been ‘done’ and Monique and I look after them.The Siamese has had a very thin metal stick (toothpick size) in her head for days and finally this morning I caught her by the scruff of the neck and managed to pull it out – quite embedded but as I had been unable to get her to Begonia – who advised me to pull it out as soon as possible – I was determined that the job was going to be done – she didnt fight or meeow and now she should be much more comfortable.She certainly didnt stop for breakfast and shot off at a rate of knots!!! Monique has antibiotics if there is a problem with her.
I would also like to say that Begonia – our local Vet – has been really wonderful with all the stray cats we have taken to her over the last few months, she spends endless time examining them and giving us lots of advice and Sandra and I, and Jean and George cant thank her enough for her time and expertise, she is a Vet in a million.
Another 10 cats are going to Germany next Friday, and Sandra,Mary and I have the lovely job of collecting all the fostered kittens in Almerimar at 5 am and delivering them to Casa de los Gatos where they will be put in special carrying cases, sedated, and Gisela will then deliver them to Josh of the Dog Sanctuary by 7.30 am and then they will be on their way to new homes in Germany.Although Gisela will not be able to do this in the New Year, we hope to be able to carry on and find homes for yet more cats in Germany.
Thank you for the comment Pam, and I agree with you that Begona has done a fantastic job AND given us some pretty good discounts along the way. I particularly like her as, as well as being great at her job, she is SO kind and caring to the animals she treats. It is great to have an excellent vet who really cares, and I cannot recommend her enough.
Excellent news, he was certainly a very affecionate cat, was good to have him around for a few days!!!
Well done Ollie …… seems like you are the really star of the story 🙂
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