Two of the volunteers, Elaine and Lisa came in the night before and the rest of us, Debbie, Mo, Barbara and myself arrived in Dubrovnik on Wednesday the 30th. We all caught the Postira to Otok Lopud that afternoon. Knowing all the volunteers was a big help as we had all worked together before and they knew what to expect of me!
Lopud, one of the Elaphite islands is close to Sipan but in all the years I have never spent time there apart from the few visits earlier this year taking back cats and planning this trip.
Barbara, who is German, has lived on Lopud with her Croatian husband Anton for thirty-four years and is devoted to and feeds many cats on the island especially the big numbers that live in a wooded area at the back of the park and around an old derelict hotel.
Some of the cats on Lopud had been neutered by Austrian vets who managed to come into the country on one visit five years ago and also the females we did at our early spring clinic on Sipan. It was during that trip that Barbara had asked me if we could come back to do something similar on Lopud.
I knew Barbara and her family would be most welcoming but it was encouraging to have so many residents pleased to have us on the island. Mario and Laura, Barbara’s son and daughter frequently translated for me and were always patient. Another family member – Frano the fireman gave us a lot of help including getting the clinic ready, making transfer boxes (although a bit on the heavy side!) and finding carts for the equipment and cats. We liked it that there were no cars on Lopud and most of us, especially Mo and Barbara, had some good exercise that week walking many miles, hauling heavy carts and carrying equipment and cats up and down lots of steps. (Debbie, can’t count the long scenic walk you all had to go swimming way over the other side!) Elaine, Lisa and I also heaved everything on and off the Postira deck, including cats and our trusty cart a number of times. The all male crew always watched but never helped.
We encountered a few set backs at the beginning – one was rain on the Friday whilst being shown many different locations and potential cats to catch that were in hiding at the time, by Lopud Barbara. Mo, Barbara and I were getting a little muddled with so many new places; down alleys, up steps and hillsides, well spread out in the wind and rain and with the language problem. Later Mario patiently went over everything with me. Mo and Barbara had caught a good number of cats earlier in the day so the vets and nurses could get started. Apart from that one day of rain we had mostly beautiful sunny days, right up to when the volunteers left.
On this trip and being a new island, it would have been beneficial for the main cat-catchers (sorry Mo and Barbara I have to call you cat-catchers) and myself to have arrived a couple of days ahead of the others but this had not been possible. As always there are unknown factors but there were a few things I needed to have organised better. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to make any more visits after the main planning ones in May although I had constantly liaised with Barbara and Gina, our vet Lukre, also friends and contacts on Sipan throughout the summer. Debbie had joined me on Sipan in May for a week visiting Lopud to check things out. On one weekend in Dubrovnik Lukre, Debbie and myself caught some strays, all females, sometimes with the help of local people. They were neutered, kept overnight and released back to where we had found them.
I was also too ambitious, thinking we could combine Sipan in the time we had although Elaine, Lisa and myself caught some cats and brought them to Lopud having gone over the night before. We needed to go back and catch many more, especially from Sudurad, but we didn’t get the chance. A lady up above the village needed our help but there was still so much work to do on Lopud, I felt we had let her down. Any cat-catching the three of us did – Elaine and Lisa worked together, Elaine in charge and I was general assistant.
We also had a Sunday and a bank holiday during our clinic, which meant even less boats than usual. When the vets returned from Dubrovnik to neuter some extra cats at the end, they had to come and go by sailing boat as there was no other transport. We were fortunate to have two vets this time as Lukre could only be with us for some of the days because of commitments back at the Dubrovnik practice.
The five volunteers and myself were living on the top floor of Mirjana’s large family house with a roof terrace and great views, the two vets stayed nearby. Mirjana, a friend of Barbara’s just charged us for amenities – I was very grateful. We were across a field from Barbara and Anton’s home and restaurant, set back from the sea and in good proximity to the fire station where we held the clinic. We used one large room having had much cleaning done in preparation. The workers resident at the station were very interested in the proceedings or rather in the volunteers and vets. Much joking went on throughout the week.
Gina Ruttinger, Barbara’s friend from Germany who cares about and feeds more cats every summer on Lopud had collected donations, along with Barbara. Including their own contributions they raised enough money for all the drugs Lukre needed to purchase which was an enormous help. It was unfortunate Gina could not be on Lopud for our vet trip as she would have been able to identify and find some of the cats we needed to catch, saving time. She also speaks fluent English. SNIP International had very kindly donated some new equipment including a large trap which was invaluable. Mo had dealt with the applications for me which was a big help.
Just before the trip Tess at WVS had contacted me about a black kitten with one eye, the other just an open socket, that an English couple had been feeding on Sipan while on holiday. They had contacted WVS from the island also having read my report from last year. It was very lucky our clinic was about to happen. A few days later I found the kitten, we took her to Lopud to be treated and neutered, then returned to Sipan with more antibiotics which a man I know said he would give her. Lukre had asked for the kitten to be brought to the Dubrovnik practice later but I didn’t think anyone would manage that. At least we had done what we could and she had a better chance.
Over several days I made a number of visits up around the area where I had been told I might find the cats Gina feeds and we were getting close to the clinic finishing. Finally after a sighting by a neighbour, Elaine, Lisa and I set out early hauling our equipment up many steps. One mama tabby cat and her kitten appeared – she was very tame and easy to catch, then we saw she had been spayed. Mo would have caught her elsewhere most likely when she was looking for food. We took her in anyway to keep her kitten calm, who was big enough to neuter. A large wary male tabby, we thought was the daddy, observed us from a way off. He required patience, the trap and Elaine and Lisa’s expertise. Releasing all three the next morning, we heard frantic mewing. Elaine had to scale a difficult wall and climb into very secure empty gardens. She brought out two frightened kittens who had kept quiet the day before. When all this was going on I nearly fell down a deep well when the thin rusty metal cover started to give way. Mama cat was very trusting as we carried away her other offspring. Our last morning on Lopud Debbie came with us to release the kittens, both females. It was wonderful to watch the four of them, very excited to be together again. We left lots of food and water and I was looking forward to telling Gina of the events. This was just before Debbie and Elaine rushed off over the hillside to attend an injured sheep.
Lopud Barbara and I were very pleased with the amount of cats that were neutered and treated, some of these were brought in by their owners. A few had treatment only (they had either been previously done or were too young). Several dogs, one rabbit and the sheep also received vet care. Many thanks again to WVS who supplied vet materials and much more, Lukre and Mag for giving us their valuable time and wanting to help and the volunteers for their very hard work and being so committed. Without you all this trip could never have happened.
Elaine and Lisa spent their last day with me on Sipan doing home visits and more. I started to get sick having caught the bug Lisa had on Lopud so missed out on kind invitations from friends. I stayed on a few extra days getting medication for sick cats, the weather had turned and there were big storms. I had also planned on checking out the situation more in Sudurad but that didn’t work out. Right at the end I was involved in a very distressing incident concerning a badly injured cat that was hit by a car and had been a long time in the rain. I had to keep him in my apartment all night until the first possible boat to Dubrovnik to have him put to sleep. Lukre had phoned me constantly with instructions which I had a hard time carrying out. Thank god she was around but I badly needed the vet nurses with me. It was not a good ending to a very successful and enjoyable trip.
On a brighter note – it was really rewarding to see the cats, most of them from Sipanska Luka on Sipan, looking so healthy and having gained some weight. Many locals spoke positively to me of the change and how noticeable it is. The people who feed many cats and receive the food I have had sent over during the summer are very grateful and also for other help courtesy of WVS.
It is different in Sudurad. In the previous two clinics we had caught, neutered and treated small numbers from that village but many cats in Sudurad are semi-wild which requires more time. What a shame there isn’t someone like Lopud Barbara with her love of cats, together with her family and friends living there. The cats and the people that do care about them badly need our help – I just hope I can put another trip together soon.
