Many cats roam freely around our Mouraria neighbourhood. They pop out through doorways and from beneath cars without warning. They are friendly but somewhat distrusting of any humans who are not in the process of feeding them.
We’ve seen this well-fed tabby a few times on Rua Marquês de Ponte de Lima.
This young bedraggled cat jumped out from beneath the hood of a car, looking very drowsy. The sun was beating down so it must have been a very warm sleeping spot.
Next to the car was another young kitten who scampered through this tiny hole in a doorway and then peered back out at me.
We see this black and white cat often, and he or she is more mature and very businesslike.
This cat was in one of our neighbour’s windows, watching the action on the street below with great jealousy.
Just up the Escadinhas do Marquês Ponte de Lima is a quiet car-free alley where many of the cats hang out. The mystery of why they prefer that particular alley was solved when a woman popped out of the door and fed them. Many of the cats seem to be cared for: there are small water bowls located around on the streets.
The cats in this alley are the only ones that approached us, and the only ones we petted (or tried to pet) as we don’t want to be scratched by a stray.
At home on our balcony we’ve seen our neighbour’s black cat a few more times in the courtyard below. Once I spotted him on our balcony, but when I went outside he jumped onto this adjoining roof, stared at me for a while, then disappeared behind a chimney.
