Hello! I’m Porthia, a silver-grey tabby cat named after my home town of St Ives!
Chatting with a seagull friend on the Wharf
I was born in a little red fishing boat, sat in the harbour sand, along with my three brothers and three sisters. It was very early on a beautiful May morning when we came into the world, just as the sun was rising over St Ives Bay.
We heard the waves rolling onto the beach, and the cry of the gulls, and we could smell the mackerel, and taste the salt in the air. What a wonderful place to be born! I remember Maw licking us all clean, and the warmth of us all huddled together.
My sleek, elegant mother came from a large house at the top of the town — what St Ives folk call Uplong — and my father is a big, tough white cat with ginger patches from the streets of Downlong, where he’s known for being the fastest cat in town at catching rats and mice. Their partnership would have been frowned on years ago, so I’ve since been told!
But Maw is an adventurous cat, and it was when she ventured all the way down to the cobbled streets around the harbour
that she met Paw. He lives with an artist called Michael, and when he’s not hunting rodents, he enjoys basking in the sun outside the Sloop Inn — and that’s where he caught Maw’s eye. And the rest is history. Or should I say his story and her story!
When the time came for my brothers and sisters and me to be homed, I couldn’t be found anywhere. Having inherited Maw’s spirit of adventure, I had been exploring the boats around the harbour, and suddenly I found myself caught up in a fisherman’s net. I meowed with all my might, but the wind was up that day, so nobody heard me.
Luckily, a kind pyskadore found me and untangled me. In a warm, friendly Cornish voice, he said to me: “Don’t you worry, little one. I know just the home for you, my girl, where you’ll be pur lowen.” This fisherman knew of a nice lady called Kitty, whose cottage sits snugly on the harbour, in the corner. Kitty is known for her fondness for cats, birds and children, and for her kind and gentle nature.
Networking at Bayspace
Kitty’s home became mine, too — I believe it was Fate which brought us together, as well as Petroc the fisherman! Kitty helped find good homes for my brothers and sisters, but then she wished she’d kept one of them to live with her — so she was overjoyed when Petroc brought me to her.
All of us have been named after Cornish saints and places. Piran, the first-born, is living just round the corner from me, in
Back Road West; my middle brother Uny is at Penbeagle; and my little brother Winwaloe in Nancledra. Of my sisters, Senara is living near Steeple Woods, Anta in Lelant, and Gwithian in Hayle.
Maw has returned to her human family in Uplong, but she still visits Downlong sometimes.
Waiting to greet visitors at St Ives railway station
I love my home in the harbour, and my life with Kitty. One of our favourite things is to watch the sunrise together — and on some lucky mornings, the fishermen bring us fresh mackerel for breakfast! I’ve made lots of friends around the town, and I enjoy going to coffee mornings and other events, where I’m often offered some tasty treats. I get away with a lot — and I have my mother’s sea-green eyes to thank for that!
I look forward to telling you some of the tales (or do I mean tails?!) of my travels. Kitty sometimes talks to me in Kernewek, and I’ll be sharing some of the words and phrases I’ve been learning with you.
Don’t forget to follow me on Instagram, for mews and views from around St Ives Bay!
Oll an Gwella!
Love from Porthia x
Learn Cornish with Porthia
In each issue of our magazine, our resident Cornish cat will be helping you to build your Kernewek vocabulary. Here’s this
issue’s words, used in the story above.
Pyskadore — Fisherman
Pur lowen — Very happy
Kernewek — Cornish language
Oll an Gwella — All the best
