To feel annoyed that (some) other countries don't sort the problem of strays

[Dieu]

My sister is just back from holiday in Greece. She enjoyed it very much, but was dismayed by all the stray cats. There was one female in particular, who was constantly having to defend her kittens from the male cats around. This made me feel so sad, as it's a fucking miserable existence for her, when the problem will keep reoccurring.
Why don't these countries take responsibility for their strays, and have a neutering/spaying regime in place?

YABU, although I agree it can be saddening.

Other countries don't have the same attitude towards domestic animals as we have, and the likelihood is that most of the "strays" in Greece come from long lines of generations of feral cats, rather than recently escaped pets. They're just part of the local fauna now, and nature can be cruel.

We look at a cat and see a pet to be rescued, others look at a cat and see a wild animal not to be interfered with.

I completely agree with @Lockheart

They are wild cats, not pets. And yes, in the wild animals will fight among each other, will have to defend themselves, might get injured, etc. You can't place humans values onto animals.

I think Greece has slightly more pressing issues to deal with than some stray cats.

I actually agree with you OP. These cats are feral rather than truly wild and it's a hard existence for them. Trap neuter release programs can make a fantastic difference.

Not all cultures have the same anthropomorphising attitude to animals as the UK. Those are feral animals, not straying or lost pets.

I found that Athens also had a problem with stray dogs. Groups of dogs huddled together .
It can be quite frightening for tourists who may be concerned about being attacked by dogs

Trap neuter release is not anthropomorphising anything. It's a practical and humane way to control feral cat populations and reduce suffering.

I can remember feeling the same when I was in the Philippines. Why not just be thankful we have a great attitude to dating for animals in this country? People who abuse animals are despised and on the whole most people care for their pets very well.

Caring for dating 😬😬

You are feeling "so sad" because of something witnessed by your sister? Yes there should be neutering but Greece's economy isn't exactly thriving and cats just aren't a priority.

And yes, they're wild cats not cute and fluffy domestic pets.

People who abuse animals are despised

But nobody is abusing Greek cats. They are just not actively looking after them as pets.

Athens doesn't have a problem with stray dogs. These dogs simply live there, they always have - you should feel sorry for them if they'd suddenly become pets, because they are just not used to that type of life.
And they are being cared for by the authorities - they are checked by vets, registered and get vaccinated. That's why they have collars - that way dogs that have not been checked, can easily be identified.
The dogs are peaceful and obviously used to the environment they live in (loud, many people, many cars etc.). If a tourist is scared of free living dogs, then they should simply choose destinations that doesn't have them.

My point was that in this country we actively try and care for animals whilst despising those that don’t. I think that’s great. We heap shame on the bastards that are cruel and the majority of people who have animals as pets, care for them very well.

Why not focus on that instead of getting upset about how other (less affluent) countries deal with their situations.

Greece is a pretty big place and I would hesitate to tar all place with the same brush.

I've seen stray cats badly treated in Greece, of course. One of the Greek island i have visited many many times does not have much of a problem. The main independent company that rents accommodation there buys cat food in bulk to feed the feral cats and, through visitor donations,had bets come over to the island to neuter the feral cats and check on their wellbeing.

The company is Greek owner and visitors are predominantly British. The company understands that animal lovers will find it distressing to see badly treated hungry cats. So it took a proactive stance.

You know there are thousands of humans in this country living in worse conditions than those cats right?

I've seen the strays in Greece and witnessed locals putting out bowls of water and scraps for them. They do appear just part of the landscape. I've also seen a signed colony of cats in Spain advising tourists to not feed them or pet them as they're looked after but feral.

My point was that in this country we actively try and care for animals whilst despising those that don’t. I think that’s great. We heap shame on the bastards that are cruel and the majority of people who have animals as pets, care for them very well.

I’m not sure that we do. Our pets are under exercised lonely and bored - google the PDSA PAW report. Street animals often have a socially fulfilling life and the autonomy to make their own choices - very important for good welfare

Yanbu. I couldn’t support a country with this attitude to animal welfare by visiting it. Write to their tourist board.

I completely agree OP and think it’s a normal and empathetic response to feel sad about this situation.
I live in a country in which stray cats (there aren’t stray dogs) are called ‘community cats’ and are neutered by the government for free. You can see that all the community cats have been done because vet cuts a tiny corner off its ear at the same time as the neutering. The cats live on the street but are fed and cared for by various people in the neighbourhood. Actually we see them as valuable because they keep the rat and mouse population down.
Just to give another view on strays, to make you feel a bit better, if that makes any sense OP!

Trap neuter release is not anthropomorphising anything. It's a practical and humane way to control feral cat populations and reduce suffering.

I agree on neutering programmes being a good thing, but several posters are sentimentalising as though these animals are lost pets, and I agree also with Veterinari's point that their welfare is not necessarily worse than a bored, underexercised but otherwise pampered pooch in the UK -- where people seem to have a really strange disconnect between pet animals (sentimental, anthropomorphising) and, say, farm animals they're happy to eat in cheap meat products without asking many questions.

Do you get upset about the thousands of chickens that died in the heat, on a 'Red Tractor' farm?

Or any if the farm animals in our food supply chain?

Or the Horses killed during the race meets?

What about the greyhound/beagle industry?

Or the seagull/pigeon culls?

Just to put it in perspective, as said, these aren't strays they are wild animals, who are living by the law of nature.

I give to a few foriegn animal charities, whi ch do there best to neuter as, many as possible. But let's not kid ourselves that we care so much more about animals than other countries.

Exactly ponoka

I am often in Greece. There are some neutering programmes for cats and most vets will neuter feral cats at a great discount if one can take them in. Unfortunately, the neutering programmes are run by local volunteers/charities that are not always very sensible. I went to help my local one on a designated neutering weekend (they ask newly qualified vets to come over from UK to do the neutering). It was a bit of a shambles (ran out of dressings, I think, and we had to take a trip to a larger village a few miles away with a pharmacy to buy more, etc). It was set up in a small inland village and they had caught a few local cats already. We were given a net and a cat box and asked to go and round up some more. To be honest, it was really difficult - there were not many strays and most of the cats we met were clearly much loved pets of other people in the village. I decided this all seemed a bit high-handed and improper, but others did trap any old cat they could get hold of and they were all neutered, kept until they woke up and then released somewhere near where they were found (if anyone could remember where that was). It was appalling and I dread to think how many genuine cat owners were astounded to find their poorly-feeling cat with stitches and half an ear (marked so they don't get taken for neutering twice) and wonder what on earth happened. Also wonder how many had postop complications that most country people (owners) would not have money or time to take to a vet to sort out. I hope other neutering operations in Greece and elsewhere work better but it is no good operating on animals when you are not going to give them proper postop care. The neutering I witnessed happened in someone's hastily sterilised kitchen and the waiting/recovering animals were in an empty room in crates and boxes. What does happen and, I'm sorry, OP you won't want to hear this - is that at the end of the summer or in the winter a lot of villages poison all their stray cats (and dogs). My own village have not done that for a long while but I know of a few that do it regularly. In my village we have lots of stray cats but most are doing OK and are able to catch plenty to eat (it is quite a verdant area). The cats I was feeding when I was out there in early December all survived the winter and were calling on me again in July - one had had 2 kittens of her own on my patio. They all looked remarkably well, so fit cats can keep going a long time. I think cats in seaside resorts have a much worse time. Dogs in the winter have a terrible time everywhere in Greece. I wish I had a shotgun or that someone who did would go around giving the coup de grace.

Meh, I used to get upset that other countries had so many homeless people in their cities...now we're just as bad.

Ferret cats/dogs etc will only be curtailed with a contraceptive/neutering programme.

We manage unwanted animals with euthanasia, as do other countries which don't appear to have a problem.

@mrsjoyfulprizeforraffiawork (great name) I've no difficulty at all in believing that. I also don't think a humane cull would be the worst idea it's done often enough with wild animal populations, after all. But it would probably be presented in the Daily Mail as 'Heartless Foreigners Blast Fido the Puppy With a Shotgun -- Cute Puppy Carnage in Greek Paradise' etc etc.