Pets in Spain

Despite my preconceptions of Spaniards not being animal lovers it seems that they love their pets as much as anyone else. Last week I moved into my new piso here in Salamanca. As well as meeting my two new Spanish housemates I have also made a four legged friend – in the form of our pet cat.

Having previously had a pet cat in England who used to enjoy roaming the streets of our neighbourhood at night, it seems a little strange that my new cat is unable to leave our flat – we live on the fifth floor so there is no way out for him! Lots of Spanish people live in flats so their pet cats don´t have the luxury of a cat flap.

Spaniards seem to like animals just as much as people from other countries. Each year on the 17^th January there are celebrations for Saint Anthony, the patron saint of animals. People take all sorts of animals; dogs, cats, hamsters and even pigs to church so that they can be blessed! Following the blessing there are processions through the streets. The Spanish are renowned for their love of celebrations and festivals, so in many ways these celebrations don´t surprise me.

The celebrations are popular in Madrid , Barcelona , Burgos, the Balearic islands and even Central America and Mexico. Celebrations of the festival began in the 19^th century in Madrid. Essentially owners who take their pets for blessing are expressing their appreciation and love for the animals.

Yet as in all countries, animals are not universally liked. I remember going on holidays to the Spanish coast with my family and seeing lots of stray cats in the streets. These feral cats only kept themselves alive by living of scraps of food.

The restaurant owners often seemed to abuse these cats; kicking them or pouring water on them, in their attempts to usher them away from their restaurants. I certainly can´t imagine a feral cat being taken to church for a St. Antons day blessing!

So despite the impression you may have if you have spent time observing the feral cats in beach resorts, some Spaniards are actually big animal lovers!