Cordelia and her team at Nine Lives Greece manage a ‘catch, neuter and release’ programme for stray and abandoned felines around Athens. Each cat and kitten they come into contact with is individually assessed, and there are always some who are judged unable to survive on the streets.

That’s the case with the five cats who’re joining the Animalcouriers trip to the UK: two have had amputations and the other three are blind. Once they had all been neutered and had any other treatment required, Cordelia and colleagues got in touch with friends and supporters to find them loving new homes.

During the wait for new homes, the cats stay with foster carers. However long the wait is, Nine Lives Greece prefer to make sure they find absolutely the right home for each one. Needless to say, there are never enough people available to house all these vulnerable cats. The five travelling with us are split between two new homes in the UK.

Nine Lives Greece receives no state funding or assistance: it’s a purely voluntary organisation. This year to raise funds they’ve produced a fantastic calendar with beautiful photos of Nine Lives cats by Italian photographer Carlo Raciti. He has a very good reputation for animal photography and Cordelia told us that he was very patient with all his feline subjects.

To buy your calendar, contact ninelivesgreece@gmail.com

Cordelia with the Nine Lives Greece calendar

The calendar’s front cover

Batman and Robin, June’s pin-ups

Cordelia saying goodbye