March has been a great month with 480€ raised to help more of our stray cats and dogs. This all started on March 6th with a good book-sale and then our first poker run in the evening, which Jan and Ingegerd Ljung (pictured with me) won by pulling out a total of 3 aces!

The Winners Presentation

I’d like to thank The Reader for their coverage of the Poker Run and for providing the prize for the winners: a case of red wine, and Cafe bar Ankara for providing an excellent curry, chilli and tuna pasta bake, for the prize-giving and raffle at the end of the evening, and of course to everyone who supported it.

Overall it was a great evening. We would have liked a bigger turn-out, but it was reasonable, and everyone who joined in had fun, loved the idea, and thought we should definitely have another one when there are more people about and the weather is a little more pleasant for walking around. We also had offers from more bars who would like to be included in the next one.

After that rather busy Saturday, yesterday was a little more relaxed with just our usual book-sale, but again it was well supported and each 100€ raised is enough to help another cat on its way to a new life.

Thank you again to everyone who helps our fund-raising in any way!

This is Tigre. He is a beautiful, gentle boy. He is still a little shy, but is a lovely tame cat. He turned up in the port about 2 weeks ago, and we believe was abandoned. Now after a nervous start he is doing very well, in his foster home.

He will hide, but we can pick him up and he doesn’t bite, he cuddles, but often with his head under your arm. Today we got him to play. He just needs a little more confidence with people, that we are not going to hurt him.
Possibly his family were not so nice to him, or didn’t give him much attention, or maybe he is just a little stressed after finding himself alone and hungry on the streets.

Anyway he is now being very well looked after by Jayne, and I am sure our girls in Germany will find a home quickly for this gorgeous boy. We’ve all fallen for him already!

I wrote a few weeks ago that Snoopy & Luke were happy in their new home, and this latest photo certainly shows that again!

After their first ‘trial’ home in Germany didn’t work out, I was worried that it may take them a while to settle, but all seems great, and the news is that their little lives are about to get even better.

“Luke and Snoopy are well… Sometimes Snoopy is a little shy but often he cuddles, too… both are very lovely and calm… Next weeks they will prepare their garden so that Luke and Snoopy are safe there …”

Yet another happy ending for these sweet brothers!

Froylan & Floffy are 2 lovely little kittens from a cat rescue in Murcia, who came to us when the January transport to Germany was turned back due to snow.

We kept them for longer than originally intended as they had colds and fungus, and naturally became very fond of these sweeties, particularly Jayne and Mike who fostered them for most of their time with us.

It was therefore great to get these photos of them happy together in their new home in Germany.

These are great photos of Belle and Twigs in their new home. These lovely sisters are 2 of our litter of Rock Kittens, rescued back in October, and they travelled to Germany in the middle of January.

Brother Rocky, and friend Domino went to their forever home a little earlier and I posted photos of these happy little Tomcats a few weeks ago.

The girls had to wait a little longer for their happy ending as their new parents were on holiday but all seems very fine now!

Belle and Twigs would like to thank Jayne and Mike, their foster parents here, and everyone else who has helped them.

News is already coming in from Germany about our cats who arrived there yesterday. Big Chiver’s foster Mum is ‘already in love with him’, Marty was ‘very welcome’ in his new home, and for Trixie’s new big friend it was love at first sight!

Chivers appears none the worse for his 24 hour trip and already seems to be making himself at home from this email:
“He IS such a cute boy, how could somebody love him not ?
in his foster home he was walking all the time behind his new foster mum and was talking….about the transport and so on…;o) and when she spoke with him, he answered !! ;o) and cuddling he was with everyone, who wants to cuddle with him..;o) he is really cute and he is loved again..:o)”

Enjoy these early photos of Trixie with her new family.
“Trixie loves her new guy in her new home… first minute she hate him because he is a big cat but very lovely… I have never seen a cat so happy to have a new cat in his territory… He loves her and followed her step by step to not to miss her… and she cuddles after some minutes with her adoptants… very lovely girl… she talked a lot, too… and she loves her new friend… both played after some minutes… that is a perfect pair and he is very worried if he do not see her and is searching in the apartment, because he cannot hear her (white persian mix with a blue and a green eye)… ”

Only Cosmo and Lucia are hiding from their foster Mum’s but that is to be expected as they are both nervous cats, and it is very early days.

Sunday March 14th

Great news this morning, that all our cats have arrived safely in Germany. We did get our 4 boxes on the transport and Chivers, Lucia, Cosmo, Marty & Trixie all set off from here early yesterday morning, to a rather colder Germany!

Friday March 12th

Things have been thankfully a little quieter so far this year, giving us time to focus on some much needed fundraising. I was therefore about to write that all our remaining foster cats were off to a rather cold Germany (pictured) on Saturday, until Tuesday that is!

On Tuesday morning, I met Tigre for the first time, and took him up to vet Miguel. After this rather bad day he has been settling in at foster Mum Jayne’s where I visited him yesterday. He was very nervous and hiding, which wasn’t a surprise after being abandoned, then caught and taken for castration! I managed however to pick him up and he became rather a cuddle boy. He is a beautiful little tabby male of about 18 months, and I am sure we will easily find him a home.

Below is a beautiful photo taken by Martina, one of our great girls in Germany. This is near where she lives and such weather may be rather a shock for our Spanish cats who are due to travel in the next few days!

I am still waiting on confirmation that we have 4 boxes on the transport tomorrow as we have Marty, Trixie, Cosmo, Lucia and big Chivers waiting to go to adoptants and foster homes in Germany, which would just leave me with one foster cat, Tigre! Here’s hoping we get them all on their way. Cosmo and Lucia in particular remain very nervous and need more individual attention which they will get in the very experienced foster homes they are heading to.

Good news on the fund-raising front is that last Saturday’s book sale and Poker Run together raised 375€ which was much needed and puts Almerimar Strays back in the black.

We have one more hungry little cat in Darsena one that we aim to rescue this week, one more Nautico kitten that needs sterilising, and one little dog whom we plan to take up to the dog rescue on Wednesday. We then plan to worm the remaining port cats, before moving our sterilisation program further out.

Great news from Germany this week is that Harvey and Greta have settled really well into their new home, and Greta who was quite nervous at first, has decided that she really loves her new Mum which is brilliant. She is less sure about Dad so far, but Harvey thinks he is great and they are playing a new stimulating clicker game, as Harvey loves to play.

Also look out for new photos of Belle and Twiggs over the weekend looking very relaxed in their new home.

This actually only leaves Emily in Germany waiting for an adoptant, and we are still hopeful that her foster Mum may yet decide to adopt her.

Little Trixie is doing brilliantly, and has become quite a big girl, when compared to the tiny fluffy ball, that was rescued quite literally from the jaws of a dog. She is a real, little character, and is eagerly awaited by her new adoptants.

And as for us … we will miss her. It took a little longer to warm to Trixie, because she was SO greedy and always tried to steal the food from the other kittens, hitting and biting as she went! I think this was because she had problems with her stomach, and was SO tiny and hungry. Finallly in the last few weeks she has calmed down, and as well as getting healthy, she has actually become quite a sweet little thing.

SO we will send her to her new home with some fond memories, and in great shape.

Enjoy these latest photos. The next ones I expect to be from her new parents. She will travel to Germany, with her friend Marty next weekend. They are going to different homes, but each will have a young cat as a new friend. For the transport however they will be keeping each other warm in one box!

Marty’s adoptants in Germany have been waiting over a month for him already, so I took these new photos to keep them company until he travels! He is definitely one of the most lovable kittens we have fostered. He is playful, curious and very loving. A real little darling!

Finally, I have managed to take some great photos of Chivers, without scratches all over his face, from his previous macho existence on the streets. He has healed well, and adapted well to being inside, so much so that cuddles are demanded constantly accompanied by loud talking!

Good photos are really important for all our foster cats, as homes are found for them in Germany, via our partner’s website. Chivers is now up there looking his handsome best, so we are hoping for some interest in him soon. In the meantime he has some lovely foster parents waiting to meet him in Germany.

Enjoy what are now Chivers’s ‘official’ photos: