Expat Community > Ukraine

Russophile
Joined 2013
Posts: 98

Odessa Vignettes 2

9 years ago

I have never seen a rat or a mouse in Odessa. The Russian (or Ukrainian) Orthodox Church is pretty much a state religion here. One of the byproducts of their particular view of the world is that most people here think it would be 'ungodly' to neuter a dog or cat. The result is that this city is overwhelmed with feral cats. That probably explains the severe shortage of rodents here.

The people seem to be very tolerant of their feline neighbors. Some even go so far as to keep them well fed. In the courtyard of my apartment building there are about 10 cats that do nothing all day but loll in the sun and wait for the local 'Cat Lady' to feed them twice a day. But this tolerance of cats can lead to some interesting episodes.

In the summertime, most cafes and restaurants have outdoor seating. I was having dinner one evening at the City Garden Cafe, an upscale restaurant located (you guessed it) at the edge of the beautiful City Garden of Odessa. I was enjoying a superb meal of Chicken Kiev while listening to the background music of a Strauss Waltz. The evening breeze off the Black Sea added an additional level of pleasure. The ambience was interrupted by an unholy screeching next to my table. I looked down at my feet and saw a big Tom cat who had a Queen by the neck and was doing the Big Nasty to her right on the floor of the restaurant! She was vocalizing her paroxysms of rapture!! I was reminded of the scene in “The Big Easy” that led to the immortal line: “I'll have what she's having!”. Surprisingly, I was the only one of my fellow diners that seemed perturbed!

William Russell

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William Russell

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