Greek island but without the strays

[TreatTreat]

I'd love to visit a Greek island. Is there one without any stray animals in the main resorts? It'd really upset me seeing them.

I do find Greece are one of the better countries for tackling stray cats and neutering them . We visit Kos most years and most strays we come across have been neutered . The resort we stay at have the same couple of cats there year after year and they're in good condition. The staff look out for them too . My suitcase is always packed with cat food .

We have been to Greece twice and Cyprus twice and they are not 'strays' as such but more village cats. You would see places where food had been left by shops etc and water. They were certainly looked after. In all the places we have been there has been a local or regional charity that does a neutering and vet programme and we usually donate to them as well.

Many of you love the cats and that’s fair enough. But that’s not what the OP is asking.

The Op says she would be upset seeing strays. I think posters are saying that they are often relatively well-cared for so not upsetting.

A PP said she was afraid of cats which is a totally different thing and tbh I think she would find visiting Greece her own personal hell as there is no way to not see cats. (Clunky wording but you know what I mean I think)

It's naive because for every one cat you see, hundreds will have died as kittens and all will have a short and precarious life and probably a very unpleasant death. The only reason it doesn't upset people is because either they just don't care or, as is evidenced on this thread, they don't understand the reality of it.

The neutering programmes are a drop in the ocean. Even the neutering programmes in the UK are being overwhelmed and just can't cope. In certain places it's getting nearly as bad as those countries, except people don't realise as it's all hidden from view in back gardens and on industrial estates etc.

No one who works with colonies and experiences the suffering and death first hand would think that seeing lots of strays around is nice, or fine. And anyone thinking it is is most definitely naive.

@thecatneuterer I’m really interested in what you do, are there any charities in the UK I can look at to find out more? I had no idea this was a problem in the UK. I have noticed a cat charity near me has recently had a massive influx of kittens which is unusual.

We stayed in the very north of Kefalonia last year, saw the odd cat around the harbour, certainly no colonies! No idea about the bigger resorts.

Many, but certainly not most, of the rescues do trapping and neutering. I'm with Celia Hammond's in London and control of colonies is our main focus, but we're losing the battle.

If you want to get involved in your local area (although nice, middle class areas don't have much of a problem, whereas there probably isn't a street in East London without a colony we have dealt with or which needs dealing with) then you can find a list of rescues on www.catchat.org

I'm amazed that everyone thinks the cats are all fine because all the tourists at the resorts feed them - what the hell do they think happens at the end of the season when the tourists don't come and the resorts shut down? Yes some people put out food, but cats are highly territorial so they're not going to be sharing it around. I read on a charity site for Santorini that in the winter with no tourists to feed them the cats become a problem and people poison them.

I'll never forget going for a walk in Symi and a clearly starving cat meowing desperately at me in a back street at 8/9pm when I had nothing to give it and nowhere to get anything - and this was in peak season. In fact the strays looked worse in beautiful, yachtie rich Symi than in any of the other 10 or so islands I've visited.

In answer to your question OP I haven't been to a Greek island where there weren't a lot of stray cats. We had an apartment in Cyprus and couldn't enjoy sitting outside to eat at all as there were so many.

@Shar270 yes I remember seeing so many strays on Symi. We went there on our honeymoon and I used to buy dry cat food and take it with me when we went out . One evening I got some out of my bag to feed a cat and we were suddenly surrounded by about 30 cats that just appeared out of nowhere.
In Tinos we rescued a kitten from a big industrial wheelie bin. I don't know if someone had put it in there or if it had found it's way in looking for food.
I've been to two resorts in Menorca where we hardly saw any cats. Although I did see a van for a cat rescue organisation.

Because in my country they're pets. That's why.

Thanks everyone. Do the cats look healthy and chunky then? It's the thought of seeing a malnourished, mangy cat that fills me with horror.

Are there any stray dogs in these locations?

Switzerland is on my list to visit.

I go to a few of the main resorts on the Costa del Sol and into mountain villages and don't see stray animals. Even though it's the Costa del Sol, there are some beautiful places to visit.

I agree. It’s a nonsense that they are well cared for . Nothing of the kind. Stray cats hang around hotels because they can find food scraps or are sometimes fed by the guests or staff. They are nearly always very thin and in very poor health. They don’t have access to fresh water and aren’t viewed kindly by the Greeks in general. I saw them using the beach to toilet in Kalymnos . It’s heartbreaking to see pregnant cats desperately trying to find food and fresh water.

The cats everywhere I've been in Greece are in poor condition, aside from those who live in hotels and are fed by tourists. It's very heartbreaking. In Kefalonia, you can spend time at the DORIS animal rescue and learn about how the incredible women there are helping animals on the island. I took food and cash which was appreciated but wished I could do more. I fed the village cats by my holiday villa every day and left bowls of water.

The were fewer strays when I visited Costa Navarino in the Peloponnese so perhaps that's an option.

The government programmes to look after strays were heartening in Turkey so maybe that's an option.

As an aside one of my rescue cats in the uk is from a "hoarding " situation . She started with 3, and within 3 years they had bred to 140. It can escalate so quickly.

The only place I've not seen any in Greece was a 5 star resort in Crete. When I'd stayed in cheaper places elsewhere in the country there were quite a few, so I wondered if it was to do with the hotel being more upmarket.

That being said, I agree with others that the ones around hotels mostly seemed to be in better condition than the ones living outside resorts. Which is not the same thing as saying they were perfectly fine. Probably weren't getting medical treatment. But having a couple of cats around has an obvious benefit in dealing with vermin, which may be a why staff at a hotel who wouldn't otherwise want them there don't chase them away or care if the guests feed them.

Ive not been to Greece, but several places ive been to had loads of stray cats. Malta, Croatia, Morocco. Dogs too. It does make me sad not to be able to rescue them all. Its not an easy life for them.

Maybe try south of france or corsica. I didnt see much issue with strays there.

Or go to one of the places with these issues but do a volunteering holiday and help out with the people trying to be part of the solution.

arkdorisuk.org/about-us/#:~:text=ARK%20(Animal%20Rescue%20Kefalonia)%20is,help%20control%20the%20stray%20population.

Corfu. I went 2 years ago and definitely didn’t see any strays

I don't think you will find a Greek island with stray cats, some are better cared for/ in better health than others but it's noticeable that the strays are in much better health than they were a few years ago.
A lot of Greek islands have cat charities who neuter, put out food and water etc so you maybe able to contact them. If you see a cat you are concerned about.
There were a few stray dogs but not many.

Just to add as just seen post above mine, we were in corfu 2weeks ago in hania region and we did see stray cats, some cats you see aren't strays but clearly belong to someone and are cared for and well fed, others a rough round the edges,have flea allergies, wounds, scabbing etc some are better fed than others.
But my daughters do activitely look out for cats!

@Catneuterer thanks for clarifying. Of course it involved succeeding générations. I am not thinking too clearly at the moment

Just goes to démonstrate the énormité of the problem.

Thank you for the work you do.

@thecatneuterer

Thanks everyone. I'll be avoiding the Greek islands then. I know seeing cats and dogs without homes would really make me upset.

I'll head back to the Costa del Sol.

Are there no stray cats in Spain?