Ginny, Stratos & Brave: three Corfiot cats, one UK home

My partner and I had two UK rescue cats for many years. We had Missy for ten years; sadly she developed cancer and passed away at 15. Marx, our tuxedo cat, developed diabetes after Missy passed, but with monthly vet visits and daily insulin he went on until he was 22 — so we’d had him for 16 years. They left a big void and an empty house.

We have a holiday house on Corfu, so we knew of Cemetery Cats and visited whenever we were on the island. In September 2023, on a visit to the shelter — fussing as many cats as possible — Ginny was racing around like a lunatic but kept coming back to me for a fuss. (Since being in the UK, she firmly favours my partner Margaret!) We couldn’t resist her. We went back the next day and she did exactly the same. That was it — we decided to adopt her.

She seemed to be a good mate of Stratos, who was very laid back and not the least bit bothered by Ginny’s (apparently friendly!) attacks. Well — you couldn’t have one without the other, could you?

And so the adoption process began. Indre, the founder of the shelter, dealt with all the necessary paperwork and injections, and their pet passports were duly issued. We booked overland transport to the UK. Indre took the kittens to the mainland on the ferry, and their journey began. We met the transport three days later in the south of England; they then slept in the car all the way to our home in the north west, and the pair settled in within days, as if nothing unusual had happened.

As young kittens they took everything in their stride, and three years later they are healthy, mischievous, inquisitive cats who are a real joy to have. That’s not to say they haven’t had us tearing our hair out at times — especially Stratos, who has single-handedly tried to demolish the house more than once.

We’d followed the shelter’s posts about another shy resident, Brave — so called because he fought through so many illnesses and vet visits. The shelter did an incredible job looking after him, with constant vet care from the volunteers. We felt he so deserved a permanent home, so I spoke to Indre about adopting him. Sadly, he then caught another virus. He got over it, but it had attacked his eyes, and he had to have one eye removed. He fought through, with wonderful care from his foster mum Andrea.

Once he had the all-clear from the vet, his paperwork and injections were done, and in February 2026 he came to the UK — overland transport to Calais, then a volunteer brought him by ferry to Dover, where we picked him up and brought him home. He is a very shy cat with a nervy disposition, so the journey was very difficult for him. Once home, we kept him in a large cage for a week so he was safe and could recover, but could still watch the day-to-day goings-on and see Ginny and Stratos. Luckily, they accepted him. Then the cage was left open, and bit by bit he gained confidence and started exploring.

Now, six months on, he is happy and healthy and potters about doing his own thing. He still gets anxious at times, partly from adjusting to his changed vision — but he can hold his own with Ginny and Stratos. He really is such a joy to have around.

So yes — adopting from Cemetery Cats is so worth doing. It’s not just saving lives; it’s letting these lovely cats and kittens, who had such a rotten start, have a safe, happy and healthy life. The shelter volunteers do a wonderful job looking after the strays, the sick and the injured, and deserve so much praise — but nothing beats adoption, so these lovely furries can have a safe and healthy life.