Moggies of Malta

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Please share your lunch with me! Beach café in Gozo

While I sort through the hundreds of photos from our recent trip to Malta I’m sharing a few posts with snapshots of generic themes that I like to look out for.

As catless cat-lovers, we couldn’t help but notice a lot of moggies* wandering about. None wore collars and I assume most were feral, though occasionally there were signs of them being looked after with bowls of water and food left on the street, and even some special shelters. The signs also suggest the cats were cared for even if they weren’t anyone’s beloved pets.

*A moggie is a British term for a cat, specifically a mixed breed or non-pedigree animal.

Some of the cats seemed to have to work for a living, even if they ended up sleeping on the job.

Museum attendant, Ggantija Temples
Parking attendant, Nadur, Gozo
How much to look after your motor, mister?
Crossing attendants, Xaghra, Gozo

The only cats I know for sure had a home are these three gingers in the garden at St Catherine’s Monastery in Valletta where I am told they are looked after by the nuns. Apparently the one in the plant pot sleeps there every day.

Finally, cats in art! The bench, by Manuel Farrugia, is in the square at Ghajnsielem in Gozo and represents old and new ways of communicating. An elderly couple from the past chat face to face while a young girl of today communicates with the world through her phone. The observer is invited to sit between the figures for a photograph, which I did – I’m copying the girl by holding my phone. You can tell the cat belongs to the older era because the woman’s basket contains fish!

The mural is in Valletta, and if you open the gallery you might be able to spot a real cat in the photo (underneath the car). And last, but not least, Companions by Joe Smith is part of an outdoor photographic exhibition near Valletta’s City Gate in which Concetta, a widow, holds her very large cat. This one is definitely well looked after.

More snapshots coming soon.

Malta

52 Comments »

  1. I love the cat theme. Mark’s allergic to cats, but I used to have them when growing up and as an adult before leaving Belgium.

    When we first arrived in Portugal and Spain this past winter, we were surprised at the amount of cats and cat houses. We learned that the community usually takes care of them. It’s something we never saw in South America with the exception of one park in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. We rarely saw cats there, only stray and loose dogs…

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  4. I like cats but I seem to be allergic to them which I found out when doing work in houses with cats in them. I like to watch them though. The top predator in any suburban garden. Bob. BSS.

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  5. This is fun and these cats look pretty healthy, much like the ones we saw in Athens and Kotor. That pot plant doesn’t look like the most comfortable place to sleep but it must be, because that cat looks very relaxed.

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  7. Oh what a wonderful moggie post. Really made me smile. As a catless cat lover I can very much appreciate your lovely photos, especially all those ‘ hard at work moggies ‘ 😀 X

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  8. Where did you stay in Malta? I’m a totally disinterested, heartless not cat lover, and they are everywhere. No need to feel sorry for them. They are better looked after than many homeless people xx

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  10. Moggies – glad you translated that one! While they may be feral all those cats are getting enough to eat and living their best life. That calico in the widows arms is gorgeous and humongous!

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  12. As a dedicated cat lover I love your post with all the great photos of all those Maltese moggies! Enjoyed finding about the cats in art too. Looks like you had good weather for your holiday.

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  14. We had similar experiences with cats in Thessaloniki. So many of them, all with little homes built for them by human neighbours, who also seemed to provide restaurant service on request.

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  15. I do not recall seeing so many cats when I visited Gozo. Granted many years ago, but still…
    I often think about getting a couple, but they do tie you down. And a dog would be a better choice as it would force me to walk every day. I look forward to more snapshots from your trip.

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  19. Pingback: This week's small pleasures from Stockholm.

  20. I come back from shopping and find a wonderful post about Maltese moggies! I love cats and this has really made me smile. The first one looks really sweet and the Ghajnsielem cat has a similar colouring to Mouse. I love ‘slow’ signs with no punctuation, they always amuse me whatever the creature is.

    There’s an outlying area of my town which became a small town in its own right in 1974 and anyone born and brought up there will refer to moggies as being mice. Back in my late teens I got friends with a girl who came from there, I had two cats at the time and could never understand why her dad insisted that moggies were mice!

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