Oh dear….

Last night we decided we all felt like pizza! There just happens to be a pizza place, with an authentic wood fired oven, about 10 minutes walk away, so off we went.

It felt very decadent and it was! This is not the sort of place locals eat at, all the customers were clearly expats or tourists. One look at the menu confirmed this was going to be a very occasional treat place only ,(the final bill came to $US52, which for us at the moment is 1/2 our weekly grocery shop!), but the food was delicious and we had a very enjoyable evening. We were all feeling very full and content on the walk home.

About 1/2 way we heard a meow in the darkness and running across the road came a kitten. Well Luca of course instantly melted! We were not near any homes, it had come out of the underbrush, was underfed and scrawny, obviously a stray. It followed Luca all the way home and right through our front door! I found some food which it dove into as Luca informed us its name was Purrr and he was staying!

Pica was not at all happy about this addition to the household and had to be put in her crate. Rich was conjuring up images of us being overrun by every stray that happens to follow Luca home ,(which is an entirely feasible possibility, given Luca propensity for patting absolutely every animal we pass), I could see all points of view, and so the debate commenced.

It of course got quite emotional with Luca saying at one point, “if Purr goes so do I, I will sleep outside with him in my sleeping bag!” He also informed us that he loved Purr, and when we pointed out he had just met him, he replied instantly “you loved me when you first met me and didn’t get rid of me and this is exactly the same thing!” and so back and forth it went with lots of tears 🙁

In the end Purr was fed, petted and put outdoors with a sobbing Luca saying goodbye, and us feeling like the biggest meanies ever! We said if he was there in the morning we would reconsider.

Purr was nowhere to be seen this morning when Luca awoke after a restless night, jumped out of bed and ran outside, again there were tears 🙁 .

After much consoling and discussion, the new compromise is that if Purr is seen again, Luca can bring him home and we will see if we can make it work, watch this space 🙂 ……