Cats and Dogs

I can’t speak to the rest of Spain, or even to the rest of Catalunya, but here in Begur, cats are well looked after. Although not revered as in ancient Egypt, they seem to have a special place. I have never seen a stray dog anywhere around here, but there are feral cats. Calling them “feral” may be a bit harsh because they seem perfectly tame, they’re just homeless. My first clue was a cat stand I saw in Begur where food and water is left for them perched on a pedestal they can get to without having to worry about pesky land-bound animals. I’ve also seen dishes of food and water placed randomly about town on walls and in nooks of walls. Up the hill from where I live, a woman feeds the neighborhood cats. She wrote me an email last week asking me to drive slower by her house because of the cats. I can do that.

My yoga studio is cat heaven. There are four indoor/outdoor cats and 11 outdoor cats. The yoga maven is a very zen-like woman and kind and a cat lover, obviously. I asked what happens to the cats in the winter and she told me that she opens the basement and has boxes with blankets for them. They are beautiful cats and appear to be well fed and tended. I think she has as many or more cats at her home.

My dogs are born cat killers, or at least attempted cat killers. They’ve never captured one, though there have been close calls when we have visited friends with cats. When I go out of town, my American friend watches my dogs. He has six dogs, two cats, and a dove. The dogs are fine with these cats. I can’t understand it, except that his cats are large and seem to have a “go ahead, make my day…” attitude. Thank goodness they get along so I have a happy place to leave them when I go out of town! Here are the six dogs, plus my two, after a walk to the top of the tallest hill in town!!

We spent a lovely Thanksgiving together – a Catalán Thanksgiving – with paella and roast chickens (plus my sweet potatoes with marshmellows that were hard to find, and green bean casserole from scratch) and the dogs were absolutely loving the cats! And the day ended with another double rainbow! Living right, I guess.