I miss my two Siamese cats—Henry & Eliot—horribly when I travel. As anyone who has adopted Siamese cats knows, they are not a “shy” or “introverted” cat breed. Nope! Siamese cats have an opinion on everything and they think their human needs to hear about it. My little guy Henry is quite vocal.
Sadly, I have never met any Siamese cats on my travels in Asia, Canada, Europe, or South America. My dream is to visit Thailand—the ancestral home of Siamese. But I know I will be disappointed because I have this fool’s dream that Siamese cats will be sitting on every window ledge in every house. In fact, “in Thailand, it is highly unlikely that a Siamese cat will ever cross your path,” according to the Nikkei Asian Review.
NO FAIR!
But I do know that meeting cats on my travels is one of my greatest joys. The longer I am away from my cats, the more I yearn to stroke a cat and hold a furry one in my lap. So I am so grateful for the affectionate, curious, and loving cats that have crossed my path. I created a video showcasing these cats which I met in Argentina, Costa Rica, Croatia, and Italy in the last few years.
And I so agree with the author Colette: “By associating with the cat one only risks becoming richer.”
Whenever I get the chance, I blog about the cats I am fortunate to meet during my travels. I sat on a pier in Dubrovnik stroking a calico stray who was lazily sunning himself on an afternoon day in October.
I spent a week in an AirBnb in Santa Teresa, Costa Rica with a kitten named Teresa (my feline namesake) wooing her with cans of cat food and tuna fish from the local hacienda.
I interrupted my hike on the Path of the Gods in Italy to linger and meet local felines in a tiny Italian town.
I stalked a grey cat at La Recoleta Cemetery in Buenos Aires in the desperate attempt to get two minutes to pet her (dismal failure). She did allow me to photograph her resting next to a crypt.
I regularly bring my cats on vacation with me to Outer Banks, North Carolina, and Thurmont, Maryland because I just feel so darn lonely when I leave them at home.
Hans Christian Anderson wrote: “We travel to live.” I would append it … “I travel to live and live to meet cats.”
PS Do you have any favorite stories about meeting cats in your journeys? Please share in Comments or by email.
Postscript: I traveled to Isla Holbox, Mexico in May. I volunteered at the Holbox Animal Shelter. I fed a baby bottle to 4-week-old kittens every day for a week. I fell in love with those precious kittens. I hope they are adopted soon!
Emma
May 21, 2019 at 4:30 amHello fellow feline minion!
There’s a spot in Rome famous for its cats. Despite having been to the city 3 times I’ve never been there. I might book a trip especially for a furball snuggle fest.
Travelling around Greek Islands, we came across an island packed with cats. They’re like pigeons there (not pets and everywhere) but always happy to be fussed, fed and adored.
The great things about cats is their language is the same and you’ll always feel at home wherever you are in the world with a surprise feline companion.
Terri Markle
May 21, 2019 at 11:09 pmDear Emma, I too have learned about the cat sanctuary in Rome and I intend to visit! Right now I am Isla Holbox and I get to visit island kittens and feed them their bottle at the Refugio. Meow!