Advice To Tourists

What To Do If You See Cats or Kittens

First of all, do not pick up or move kittens.

YOU ARE NOT HELPING, YOU ARE HURTING!!!

Visitors, please do not pick up or relocate baby kittens if you find them unaccompanied by an adult. It is very normal for the mother cat to leave them alone for a few hours. She goes out to eat, take a break, hunt, socialise. She is not as hysterical as human mothers, she is doing what is normal in nature.

Don’t panic! If you think that the mother will not return, PLEASE for at least four to six hours OBSERVE the kittens, without coming too close (your presence can also scare the mother cat away).

When you take baby kittens away from their mum’s milk, you sign a death sentence. Raising baby kittens with bottled milk is almost always a fail.

Baby kittens are very delicate. You can bottle feed them and then in the second,third or fourth week they just pass.

PLEASE DO NOT DISTURB BABY KITTENS UNLESS YOU HAVE OBSERVED THEM FOR AT LEAST FOUR TO SIX HOURS AND MUM HAS NOT APPEARED. AS WE SAID, FROM A DISTANCE. You will be pleasantly surprised to see that she is around.

Thank you.

What To Do If You Find An Injured or Ill Cat

Dos and don’ts:

Do take ill or injured street cats to the nearest vet. If you cannot find a vet contact the local animal welfare group if there is one (see table below).

Do be careful where you feed animals. They can be unwelcome in some restaurants and tavernas; other customers might not like them. This can lead to restaurant owners taking brutal action.

Do ask your travel rep where it might be possible and acceptable to feed strays. Some islands and areas have special feeding places.

Do feed any leftover meat or fish to stray cats by the nearest rubbish bins or in a quiet place where you may see them congregating.

Do keep some dry cat food with you to feed to any hungry strays you may come across.

Do remember strays need water as well as food.

Don’t give cats or kittens milk. It will give them diarrhoea.

Don’t be frightened that you might catch rabies. There is no record of rabies in cats in Greece since the 1970s.

Volunteers in Greece to whom cats and kittens in distress can be reported as needing care:

** Athens vet clinics – emergencies out of hours: 69321 07838 / 69096 60335

Please be aware that all our cat welfare contacts in Greece are unpaid volunteers, doing what they can when they can. They may not always be able to help, due to e.g. being away, at work or already overwhelmed with cases. Some have no shelters for animals. Donations to help with their work are always needed and appreciated, and can be made direct or through GCWS (see Donations page). Their English may not be brilliant – please be patient, and if calling from UK remember that our time zones differ.