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.

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.