On December 10th, 2019, while we were out feeding the cats, two ladies told us about “a very sick kitten at the Sara Pizzeria near the Cathedral”. I was surprised by how quickly Kenric jumped into action. He immediately grabbed the empty carrier we had with us and left to find the kitten. I could hear the siren in his head. The two ladies were visiting from Croatia, and we thanked each other.

“It’s the little white one.” I knew exactly which one he meant. Angelo (because he was found near the Cathedral) was in bad shape, but the vet had already closed for the night by then. We had first seen Angelo and his three siblings on November 3rd. They were tiny and wet. Except for the two weeks when we were not in Kotor, we fed them frequently and filled in when Danijela texted me saying she couldn’t make it into town. We saw many tourists take pity on them, and some came with food. Many took photos yet many ignored them.

Blind and deaf, we expected him to die

On December 15th, I put a little Santa hat on Angelo, and after many tries, got a few photos in which his crossed eyes weren’t too noticeable. Kotor Kitties listed him for adoption but we had little hope that people would adopt a deaf kitten that was also going blind.

At some point over the next few days, I dropped something and he turned his head. “He can hear!” We unleashed the laser pointer on him. “He can see!” He could see the bright red dot to chase it, but not much else. We brought him back to the vet for more vitamins, and he was deemed healthy enough to be neutered.

Waiters watching us and waiting for news

Every time we walked by Pizzeria Sara since picking up Angelo, we felt like the waiters were watching us and waiting for some news. We introduced ourselves to Pavle, but he already knew who we were. His colleague, Dragan, who was there when Kenric picked up Angelo told him it was us. We were glad that the people at this restaurant were keeping track of the kitty. Danijela did tell us that the people there are good people.

Pavle follows Kotor Kitties on Facebook so he knew Angelo was doing better. We told him we would be gone for a few weeks around Christmas and New Year’s and that if nobody adopts Angelo by December 19th, we would have to put him back there. Our dinner was great, and they make Aperol Spritz the right way.

Michael-Angelo

By then, only one of Angelo’s three siblings remained at St Tryphon Cathedral Square. He was wild, and hissed and growled even when eating. I worried about his ability to beg for food from diners who usually favor cute friendly cats. It was December, and there weren’t many tourists to socialize him. We named him Michael. Together, they were Michael-Angelo.

He’s a “She”?

When we went to pick up Angelo, the vet said, “She’s done.” “It’s a she?” We looked and indeed it was the right ear that got tipped. Tipped right ear to show that the female cat is spayed, and tipped left ear to show that the male cat is neutered. Just remember, females are usually right. Usually, because it’s not a universal system. Anyway, “Angela” was born.

Angela knew she was home

We were very sad when we brought her back to the square on December 19th, but Pavle and Dragan were excited to see her and took photos of her. They were impressed by how well Angela was doing. I heard “Good job!” a few times. Once Angela realized where she was, she walked towards the big Christmas tree. She was so tiny in that big square. I felt like I was dropping off my child at the kindergarten for the first time. She went behind the locked gate where nearby restaurants stacked their unused tables and chairs. Dragan checked on her and gave a thumbs up.

We missed her and worried about her the entire time we were in Zagreb and Belgrade. The first day we returned to Kotor (January 11th), we dined at Pizzeria Sara which was fast becoming one of our favorite restaurants. We didn’t see Angela that day. Pavle assured us she had been doing well; so did Danijela during the three weeks were we gone.

She remembered her name

Our little girl has great instinct, and when we saw her digging through trash the next evening, we couldn’t have been more proud. Angela loved climbing onto Kenric’s shoulder when she was done eating. The other eight or nine adult cats never snatched her food even though they would snatch each other’s. While the rest of her colony fought for a newly discarded box in the trash pile, Angela napped on Kenric’s shoulder. Those are very precious moments.

That was why Kenric got jealous when she started climbing onto other tourists especially that wonderful Russian couple who visited Angela every night (and day) they were there. The couple loved her and took many photos of her. Her crossed eyes were especially adorable and always made them laugh. We enjoyed chatting with them.

Jim Morrison calls her Kim Kardashian

Had to take her iPad away

That’s a perfect description. Angela has a minor deformity that makes her butt perk up. It’s is especially cute when she’s ready to pounce for the ball or the red dot. And when she had to adjust her direction after running a few steps because of her double vision, Kenric and I laughed heartily. She is funny, cute, brave and rambunctious. So rambunctious that she sprained her front paw and we had to take her home for a few days. I even had to take her iPad away because she enjoyed smacking the fish swimming across the iPad with that injured paw too much. By the time we left on February 19th, she had grown out of climbing onto people’s shoulders.

Angela gives a lot of joy to tourists and locals, especially to Danijela and the crew at Pizzeria Sara. She’s definitely the favorite of many. We left some balls for the cats with Pavle, and we cherish the photos he sent. Angela has grown bigger. We miss her every day. She’s come a long way. We are so thankful to the two tourists from Croatia for telling us about her. Even though the feeders continue to feed, food and kitchen trash are definitely more scarce. While she may be hungry sometimes, and she doesn’t have tourists to play with, we are comforted she is spayed, she’s healthier and she will not ever be pregnant. That’s enough for us.

We love you, Angela, and cannot wait for the day when we can return to Kotor to see you again.

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