Miki, A Happy Rescue Cat

Published in About Animals

Miki, a very special kitten, tells the heartwarming story of how he found his ideal family.

From the first days of happiness From the first days of happiness Private album

I am Miki, born on July 1st 2020 in the Banski Dolac quarter of Jelsa. My life had a very stormy start. I could hardly walk, I dragged myself around slowly and helplessly. I think my mother abandoned me, but I don't know for sure. Some tourists found me crossing the old street in Banski Dolac, a lady with three children. They took me home to their rented villa, where they had a small dog. When he saw me, the children's father was horrified and wanted the family to put me back straight away where they found me - I have to admit I was ugly and puny, so I was not an attractive sight. That evening they took me back to Banski Dolac, but left me near the first houses below the road. The night was cold, I had been born not long before and I had nothing to eat.

My saviours

The next day my life turned a full circle. In the morning while I tottered around, hungry and helpless, one woman pushed me away with a broom and another wanted to throw boiling water over me. But at that moment, luck was on my side. A small boy was looking out of a window and saw what was about to happen. He immediately shouted to his grandfatherr "Grandpa, quickly, we must save a tiny kitten!" And then the boy raced out of the yard himself and took me in his arms, I had a welcome feeling of wellbeing.

My warm bed to snuggle in. Private album

Happiness was mine from that day on. The next morning they took me to Dr. Prosper Vlahović, the vet in Stari Grad, who checked me over and gave me all the medicines I needed. Special 'mother's' milk as well.... I slept with my new family in the bedroom, I had my own warm basket just as if I was lying in the warmth next to my mother. They petted me every day and followed my every move. The young boy was always with me, I was given a little ball and plenty more besides.

Endless love. Private album

A big change of scene

Then came the day when school was due to start again. For that reason, my boy's parents were against taking me to their other home. As they explained to him: "Daddy and mummy have to go to work, you'll be going to school, leaving the cat all alone at home." My saviour's answer was resolute: "I am not going anywhere without my cat". His decision was so firm, nothing could stop me travelling. Dr. Prosper issued me with a Croatian passport and we set off on our journey. It was very exciting, I was given a leash. When we were in Split waiting for the next part of our journey, I was calm, always held in my little saviour's arms. On the aeroplane I was in my carrier beside my family, so the journey was fine.

Comfort and safety. Private album

And then we got to Berlin...

Ah, that was something else...My young saviour's daddy was there to meet us and he looked at me rather critically. Although he didn't say anything, I could feel his disapproval. It's true, I wasn't very pretty then. Howver, it didn't take long for him to fall in love with me, and after that  everything was wonderful. I got a villa as my new home, with several floors, and I could be wherever I wanted. I knew I was safe.

Watchful but trusting. Private album

There are no limits or forbidden places in our abode. And I have to say I am very good, very well-behaved. I run after the ball when they play table tennis and there's plenty more fun for me to join in with. 

I enjoy table tennis. Private album

As you can imagine, I am extremely well fed, with salmon, duck, chicken and more, too much to mention...Thanks to all the care I received, I have developed into a beautiful feline specimen.

I am now handsome, thanks to my family. Private album

Curing a private worry 

But deep inside I was carrying a sadness. My family sensed this and one of them contacted a lady with a rare gift. She somehow could tell that I was grieving for my brother, wondering what had happened to him. And, miraculously, she managed to communicate to me that he was alive and doing well, just as I was. That cured my sadness. My happiness was complete.

Peaceful sleep. Private album

This summer I was back in my birthplace. I'm excited, it's the aeroplane and the ferry again, and then here I am in Jelsa once more, happy and outdoors! I'm in the house and the yard, and they make sure I don't venture out of the premises. They take special care of me, because there are some people around who don't like cats.

To follow my further development, you can find me on Instagram: theoneandonlymiki

My hope

There is just one thing I wish for, that other lonely abandoned kittens find the good fortune that I have!

No worries any more! Private album

Translation: Vivian Grisogono, MA(Oxon), September 2025.

We at Eco Hvar are extremely grateful to Miki's family for sharing his uplifting story with us.

You are here: Home about animals Miki, A Happy Rescue Cat

Eco Environment News feeds

  • Council leaders say crumbling infrastructure and lack of water are jeopardising government’s plans for new homes

    The government’s housebuilding agenda is hitting the stark reality of a lack of water and crumbling infrastructure across the east and south-east of England.

    Half the country was declared to be in serious drought this week, for the second consecutive year, with the Environment Agency warning of dire consequences for the economy, environment and wildlife.

    Continue reading...

  • Farms and rooftop panels contribute 14.4% to the grid – and figures reveal a surge in new installations

    Solar energy supplied more power to Great Britain’s grid in July than in any previous month as households turned to rooftop panels to cut their energy bills.

    Solar farms and rooftop panels provided 14.4% of the country’s electricity after some parts of the UK recorded almost twice the average sunshine hours for the time of year.

    Continue reading...

  • Visible impact of warming climate is impossible to ignore across landscapes that have been starved of rainfall

    Half of England and the whole of Wales are officially in drought and July is set to be the driest month on record as extreme heat intensified by the climate crisis continues to grip the UK and Europe this summer.

    The announcements this week by England’s Environment Agency and Natural Resources Wales mark the third such event over the past five years, and come in the wake of four record-breaking heatwaves since May which have fuelled huge wildfires and left farmers, wildlife and protected habitats running out of water.

    Continue reading...

  • PM has long history of speaking out on realities of global heating but political opponents remain unnmoved

    Just over four years ago, Spain’s prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, visited a small town in the south-western region of Extremadura that had been affected by one of the wildfires devouring tens of thousands of hectares of land across the country.

    That summer’s blazes had left two people dead in the northern region of Castilla y León and another man there fatally burned after the excavator he was using to try to dig a firebreak to protect his town was swallowed up by the flames. A street-sweeper in Madrid had collapsed and died from heatstroke while on shift in soaring temperatures that summer. The paramedics who tried to save him noted that his body temperature was 41.6C (107F).

    Continue reading...

  • Alfred Drummond-Herdman’s extraordinary timelapses have been viewed by millions – and led him to identify new species

    Alfred Drummond-Herdman is possibly the only person in the UK who is sent animal faeces in the post out of goodwill. His bedroom in Edinburgh is full of the stuff: clothes have been removed from his wardrobe and cupboards, replaced with terrariums and plastic containers housing sections of cowpats, grouse droppings and rabbit pellets.

    “I have a very understanding housemate,” he says.

    Continue reading...

  • Heat and drought have affected shipping, power plants and tourism across eastern Europe – as well as unearthing some surprises

    Baking temperatures and drought across large swathes of central and eastern Europe have driven water levels on the Danube and Rhine rivers to record lows in some areas, hitting shipping, energy production and tourism hard.

    Extreme conditions aggravated by the climate emergency left Europe’s waterways from the Netherlands to the Black Sea parched, triggering compounding crises.

    Continue reading...

  • Emergency crews say situation remains ‘dynamic’ as more than 100 firefighters battle Dunwich Heath blaze

    A wildfire near Britain’s biggest nuclear power station has caused “total devastation” to one of the UK’s most important landscapes, as fire crews said the situation remained “dynamic”.

    More than 100 firefighters have been battling the blaze on Dunwich Heath, near Leiston, on the Suffolk coast since Wednesday evening. The fire service said on Friday afternoon the situation was stabilising but remained a “major incident” that was “dynamic and potentially changeable”.

    Continue reading...

  • Experts say new power to bypass conservation and planning regulations are incredibly broad and could let the state effectively fast-track any project it wants

    Matt Wood gives Neville a pat behind his ear – as if the one-tonne Droughtmaster bull were an oversized labrador puppy – while his wife, Caitlin, watches hundreds of pasture-fed hens scratch beneath old macadamia trees her dad planted.

    Their talk is of building their regenerative agricultural operation amid the rainforests at the top of Springbrook mountain: adding goats to control fireweed and maremma to protect their chooks from wedge-tailed eagles and letting wild trees grow.

    Continue reading...

  • In the 1990s, scientists in Australia began searching for the origins of a new disease showing up in places hundreds of kilometres apart. They discovered the origin: bats. And found a way to reduce the risk of bat disease spillovers

    The virus could have appeared in many places on the east coast, but it is a strange coincidence, in the light of later scientific discoveries, that it first became known in the Brisbane suburb of Hendra. The high school is named Aviation High, and the streets are bordered by the international airport and aerospace buildings to the east.

    Hendra today is a booming suburb just off the M1 motorway, but for much of the 20th century the neat rows of houses enjoyed pastoral space on the outskirts of the city. When the Eagle Farm Racecourse was built, Hendra became the horse-racing hub of south-east Queensland. It was common to see horse floats parked out the front of the houses, and trainers walking their horses down the streets before daybreak. Over time, the ample paddocks filled with thoroughbreds reared for the tracks. It was in one of these paddocks, in September 1994, that a heavily pregnant bay mare named Drama Series took ill. She was quickly moved to a nursing stable, where she died of a mystery condition.

    Continue reading...

  • Volunteers painstakingly gather plastic pellets washing up on beaches after ship collision on 19 July

    “You’ve got a local community that really cares about the coastline,” said Alice Laverty, reflecting on the huge army of volunteers who had taken to crisis-hit beaches in north-east England with passion and only the most basic tools. “They’ve all got a dustpan, a brush, a bucket, a kitchen sieve.”

    On beaches from Cambois in Northumberland to Seaburn on Wearside, up to 2,000 dedicated volunteers have been painstakingly sifting through sand to find tiny, lentil-sized pellets of plastic.

    Continue reading...

Eco Health News feeds

Eco Nature News feeds