Travel with a cat phobia

[frenella]

I suffer from severe ailurophobia and after several disastrous holidays many years ago to Spain and Cyprus and the like, I resigned myself to holidaying pretty much entirely in the UK, the US and Canada.
My friends want to go to a carribbean all-inclusive and I'd LOVE to go too. But all the reviews for every island and resort mention the cats around the pool and restaurants. Is there anywhere warm and exotic that doesn't have lots of cats!?

I was on Santorini last week and found the opposite - the shops and restaurants all leave food and water out for them, and a lot have built them little houses on the beach. Most cats were good and fat, and the majority were ear tipped. Was really good to see!

I've seen some in Portugal too, but at around the level of the UK. Much less than Greece. Would've thought it would be one of the better places on the Med/southern Europe for OP, although I know it might not count as 'exotic'.

Only saw one skulking in the bushes in Antigua but it was only once in two weeks and could easily have been missed

What parts of Indonesia and the Philippines did you go to I've never seen people mention this before?

I've been to Jamaica, Haiti, Mexico and Puerto Rico and didn't see any cats. In Gran Canaria, I saw one near a restaurant and 3 in the hotel but none of them came near and both places were big enough that you could easily avoid them. Singapore doesn't have strays at all.

I have this phobia also. I can see myself being comfortable enough to see them and be in the same area as cats but I don't know how you get comfortable with cats around your legs, on a sunbed or even worse on your lap! I think even people not afraid of cats would find that annoying.

What part of Malta is this? I had Malta on my avoid list for a while cuz people say there's cats

I know you posted that in Jan 2024, but It’s now doing the rounds again in Jan 2025 :D

OP, did you manage to have some nice cat free holidays since you posted this?

Same for me! I visited Cabo in 2023 and Tulum 2024 and didn’t encounter any. I also didn’t see any in South Africa to include Cape Town in September or Dubai in mid-April. Definitely avoid Morocco as there were several. Please share other locations you know of.

All the cars we saw in Norway were being walked with leads and harnesses. Got the impression that it was too cold for strays.

so maybe a fiorjd cruise?

I’m sorry but that is ridiculous. We’ve become such saps.

Clearly you have no idea about phobias
I love cats and usually end up making friends with some on holiday BUT the 2 places I didn't make any new friends were Italy and Mexico

Sri Lanka is virtually cat-less outside Colombo, and you'll love Africa - in a lot of nations they are seen as a pest on a par with rats (there are also some folk tales about cat-keepers being possessed by the devil), so very few people have them as pets.

I have two cat-obsessed kids who just love to befriend any passing moggy. So I have a very clear memory of Holidays Where There Were Cats: northern France, Greece, UAE, Cape Verde, India.

I think the only place we didn't meet a single cat was a week in Slovenia (Ljubljana and Lake Bled, both lovely, but a great disappointment to the kids from a cat point of view). Not sure whether this is normal for Slovenia, and we did see cat food on sale in shops, so they must exist. But none visible for the whole week (and the kids were looking out for them).

Just to add: I did a quick google and it appears that most cat owners in Slovenia keep them indoors. There are not many strays, and a lot of cat rescue charities will only let people adopt if they plan to keep them as indoor cats. So maybe that's the explanation!

Wow I finally find someone with the same phobia as me!!! My last trip to Antalya was interesting. Cats around the resort, brushing up around your feet.

I am in Italy right now, Pisa. NO CATS!!!! It is wonderful. Outdoor eating, little alleyways, a gazillion restaurants and I haven't seen a single one! Amazing ♡ Off to Florence, Poggibonsi & Rome next 🤞

Enjoy your holiday @frenella. I hope it manages to remain cat-free for you.

OP can I ask you what you don't like about cats? I'm not being arsey honestly!

My friend recently came to stay with me, she's petrified of cats and I have 2 very affectionate ones. As soon as she saw them, she froze. She said she remembered as a kid, cats 'clawing' her. I explained that neither of my cats would claw her. After two days she would let one of my cats sit on her lap, she was really proud of herself.

It is really an irrational fear, same as someone with a phobia of say buttons or beards :)
I know there's nothing major that a cat could do to me. I'd rather be in a room with a lion to be honest!
The cats that I'm least scared of are fat and super furry. I HATE scrawny ones and white ones the most.
I have been through 2 courses of hypnotherapy. Once about 30 years ago and once about 3 years ago. They didn't work. I'd love to beat it.
I'm in Florence now - zero cats!!! Woo Hoo!

Aw bless you! So glad you're having a cat free holiday in Florence 🥰

Oh gosh! I suffer from exactly the same phobia. I also did few hypnotherapy but didn’t work.
my husband is Turkish so i can’t avoid going there and i think Istanbul is the city with the highest number of cats. I have so many panic attacks while there. I fully understand what you going through. People generally don’t understand this phobia and they think I am just way too dramatic. Thats how my phobia started actually.
Anyway, i don’t have tips where to go without cats around but in case you do, let me know.
good luck xx

I just came back from the South of Spain and only saw 3 cats in one week. We actually commented how few cats there were. I love cats though. Istanbul is my dream city for cats!

I have the same fear. I don’t holiday often because Mexico is the only place I am comfortable and can relax. I’ve saw one cat there.

my life is so impacted by my phobia of cats it’s awful. I too have had multiple hypnotherapy.

I literally stayed in my hotel room
the whole week in Istanbul.
biggest mistake. Total nightmare 😩