It's been a little while since my last update; truth be told it's been hard for me to know where to start.

The beautiful kittens in my profile picture sadly succumbed to the cat flu despite my efforts to save them. They had both been started antibiotics and I ended up having to syringe feed them fluids as they were becoming dehydrated and had lost interest in eating :-( They just seemed to fade in front of me as I held them and tried to keep them going. It was a terrible night; the night before I left for a few weeks for the Christmas season. I buried the little ones in my garden in the early hours of the morning just an hour before my transport arrived. It was a sad day indeed.

For the cats I left behind while I was away I made several cubby houses outside under cover complete with waterproofing, pillows and rugs and cosy boxes to climb into. I was truly blessed to have a dear friend come up to my home every day for the time I was gone to feed and visit with the cats who she said all usually reported into her. Thanks to the support you give me I was able to leave 60kg of dry food and some tinned food for my friend to feed with and she sent videos and photos to me to keep my anxiety about them in check. My cat crew survived the worst of the winter while I was away during which time it snowed!!!

Since my return the other 2 kittens I have been caring for in the 'inner circle' (Bubble and Squeak) have both developed symptoms of the cat flu, most likely transmitted from the 2 that died. I am watching them closely and may need to get them antibiotics if things progress to infection; the smaller of the pair is certainly more delicate.

The older cats are doing fine but missing the wet food which I now don't buy as the cost is prohibitive to feed so many of them. I am only buying a kitten pate for the small sickly kitten to help build it up and I have to feed it separately which can be tricky.

We said goodbye to one of the long term middle circle crew - RIP Matthau - named after Walter Matthau and thinking of his role in Grumpy Old Men. He came through reasonably often and ate and was revered by the younger cats who kept their distance. Sadly he was hit by a car and found dead by the side of the road that goes in front of my house.

A new member of the group is 'Misty' who was a much loved cat of a friend who lives in the neighbourhood who unfortunately was not liked by the family's new dog and that's putting it mildly! Despite their efforts to accommodate her she has been living at large like so many others but has found her way here to this cat friendly place much to the delight of her former family who are now contributing to the cat biscuit supplies :-)

In addition to whatever else the cats need, at the moment I am going through around 60kg of cat biscuits a month which currently cost me 20 euros a bag. At my last purchase a few days ago the local supermarket informs me that the factory they come from has been gutted by a serious fire so we are not sure what impact that is going to have on supply... will be staying tuned for that as other alternatives have been much more expensive.

We are well into spring now in Greece and summer is definitely in the air. On the one hand it's lovely and we don't have to worry about the cold so much nicer outside for the cats. On the other hand I am dreading kitten season!

Thanks again for supporting my efforts to do what I can for these dear creatures.