Cyprus-Forum.com

[WebSpace]

Cats population? How many are they approx? I bet there are no rat and mouse running around in Cyprus!!

I love animals and I would hate to live in a place where I will be seeing cats wandering around in the street, hungry and suffering. Just as you GG, I would want to help fix the problem.

First thing to do is to stop their multiplication ASAP. How much would the operation cost per cat? Charity events and Sponsors could help pay for such cost to help 'clean' the cities.

Outdoor cats do not require much daily care. Once the existing ones stop making more babies, you could then try to find a good home for them. The remaining without home could be placed in an Animal Shelter where they can be fed until they become old and die.

If nothing is done, these cats will be tortured, poisoned and killed.

[GorillaGal]

Cats population? How many are they approx? I bet there are no rat and mouse running around in Cyprus!!

I love animals and I would hate to live in a place where I will be seeing cats wandering around in the street, hungry and suffering. Just as you GG, I would want to help fix the problem.

First thing to do is to stop their multiplication ASAP. How much would the operation cost per cat? Charity events and Sponsors could help pay for such cost to help 'clean' the cities.

Outdoor cats do not require much daily care. Once the existing ones stop making more babies, you could then try to find a good home for them. The remaining without home could be placed in an Animal Shelter where they can be fed until they become old and die.

If nothing is done, these cats will be tortured, poisoned and killed.

apparently they ARE tortured, poisoned AND killed. and i propose a catch/fix/release program, it is best in the longrun, because as you pointed out, the cats do eat the rodents and snakes. there are ALOT of strays, i don't know the numbers.
The Humane Society of the USA estimates that a pair of breeding cats and their offspring can exponentially produce over 400,000 cats in 7 years.
out of the many many many cats i saw in my recent CY visit, only one cat looked to be sickly.

[Nikitas]

Oxford University biologists figure that well fed domestic cats in Britain annually kill over one hundred million small mammals and birds, some of them rare. So the problem is not one of simply fixing and releasing stray cats. A large population of feline predators on the loose is an ecological problem which must be dealt with.

Another problem in Cyprus is hydatid cyst disease (echinococcus) spread by dogs. This is a horrible disease which was far more prevalent in the past but brought under control through a drastic stray dog eradication programme. It seems tht the success of that programme has led to a lax situation now and stray dogs are increasing again in Cyprus.

However much we want to dream, it is impossible to control this problem withouth some drastic and unpleasant measures. If you look up the websites of serious cities and towns you will see that almost all of them have animal control departments and again almost all of them have some kind of eradication procedure.

Fixing and vaccinating an animal and then letting it run free does not stop the possibility of diseases like leishman, nor the hazards to traffic and dangers from bites and attacks on livestock. A vaccinated stray dog can do all those things and can be a vector for diseases affecting pet dogs.

Telling people in countries like Cyprus that in civilised countries they sterilise strays and then let them run free is immoral. Strays are not allowed to run free in civilised countries because of health and safety hazards and the possibility of expensive lawsuits. So let us keep to the truth in this shall we!

[GorillaGal]

Oxford University biologists figure that well fed domestic cats in Britain annually kill over one hundred million small mammals and birds, some of them rare. So the problem is not one of simply fixing and releasing stray cats. A large population of feline predators on the loose is an ecological problem which must be dealt with.

Another problem in Cyprus is hydatid cyst disease (echinococcus) spread by dogs. This is a horrible disease which was far more prevalent in the past but brought under control through a drastic stray dog eradication programme. It seems tht the success of that programme has led to a lax situation now and stray dogs are increasing again in Cyprus.

However much we want to dream, it is impossible to control this problem withouth some drastic and unpleasant measures. If you look up the websites of serious cities and towns you will see that almost all of them have animal control departments and again almost all of them have some kind of eradication procedure.

Fixing and vaccinating an animal and then letting it run free does not stop the possibility of diseases like leishman, nor the hazards to traffic and dangers from bites and attacks on livestock. A vaccinated stray dog can do all those things and can be a vector for diseases affecting pet dogs.

Telling people in countries like Cyprus that in civilised countries they sterilise strays and then let them run free is immoral. Strays are not allowed to run free in civilised countries because of health and safety hazards and the possibility of expensive lawsuits. So let us keep to the truth in this shall we!

hey wait a second. i live in a civilized country, and we too have a stray problem. for us to solve the homeless pet problem, every US citizen would have to have something like 8 pets each. it would be nice if we got those stats that low in CY, as i am positive they are much higher than that.
the stray problem will always exsist, just like povery and wars. but if we work together, we can make an unpleasant situation better. and it won't happen overnight.

[WebSpace]

I agree with Nikitas.

These cats should not be released after sterilisation. It will not solve the problem but would rather create more issues.

Also, GG, you don't have to wait until you are married and/or move to Cyprus to help fix this issue. If this is something you really wish to do, you could get the ball rolling now by creating a proposal on the project and contacting the proper Authorities and the Media.

This could become your 'ticket' to Cyprus (if you get some Sponsors to back you up) and your achievement might even impress your Lanarca guy this way!!

[webbo]

Yes, there is a huge problem on this island with stray cats and dogs. There are people like my family who take them in - and by the sounds of it most of our Forum friends.

The first thing we did was to make sure our beloved dog and cat could not add to the growing numbers so we had them 'fixed'.

Many responsible owners do this but a vast number of people just cannot understand why it is necessary. Believe me it is very necessary. Stray (and dare I say pet) bitches are a nuisance when they come into season, and they appear to have half the dogs of Cyprus following them - around my house!! (your too I bet my friends!!) Cats are just as bad as the noise they make is incredible and I would not have believed it had I not heard it for myself! Cats ruin your gardens, leave a smell that is beyond compare and both cats and dogs tend to have big litters. Always some exceptions.

Both are cute, cuddly, furry and fun I know but Cyprus has to recognise that it does have a problem and address it. As far as I am aware the majority of Cypriots will encourage cats as they kill snakes. In my 6 years on this island I have encounted one little harmless snake!! Lucky, not sure but I do do lots of walking so I do go into 'snake territory' if you want to put it that way!. I am not saying no to cats but surely a castrated/sterilised cat can do the same job!?!?!?!?

My friend feeds cats to gain their trust, then with the funding of one of the cat charities, she catches them and has them 'done'. She has caught qutie a few over the years but is not on island full time or the number would be higher!!

One of the biggert problem is tourist. Sorry GG! They find the cats around the tavernas or hotels adorable and cannot help but feed them. WRONG THING TO DO! The cats know when they are onto a good thing and will not leave the areas where they know food is easy to get. Cats can fend for themselves and belive me with all the rubbish around, they always find something to eat. It should be a criminal offence for anyone to encourage the cats in this way, after all most places serve food and animals are not allowed in such establishments!!

Right, think I have sounded off enough for now. In response to Webspace (I think) yes there are rats and mice on this island. Our cat knows where they are. Could ask him if you like???

Bubbles x

[cyprusgrump]

The problem with dogs in Cyprus is their Cypriot owners don’t believe in ‘fixing’ them…

The resulting litters are then just dumped away from home for somebody else to look after or run over.

Likewise, ‘hunting’ dogs that don’t come up to the mark are just left to starve to death or wander onto the road and cause an accident.

[Nikitas]

The fact is that advanced, civilised, first world, call them what you like countries do not tolerate strays running around, even if they are "fixed". The idea that strays are picked up, vaccinated, neutered and then released is another one of those idiotic bits of animal rights nonsense fostered on countries like Greece and Cyprus.

Here in Greece the idea was accepted by the Athens muinicipality. The result is packs of stray neuetered dogs that chase motorcycles, harass passers by at night and sometimes bite. Riding a bicycle is ouut of the question in some areas due to the hostile dogs. Several Athens hospitals have been instructed not to keep statistics on dog bites so that the reality and true size of the problem would not be revealed to the public. This is animal rights activism at its worst.

Researching minicipal policies in diverse places such as Manchester, Wycombe, Vancouver, Vienna, Berne and others I found out that all these places have animal control officers. Strays are rounded up and kept for some time till their owners clalim them or new owners found. If they are not claimed they are euthanised. It is a hard fact but true. This is the reason that London and Vienna are not inundated with strays, they kill them.

So let us face the truth and realise that without some drastic measures and some LICENSING system backed up by fines the situation is not going to change.

There is also the false notion around that a neutered and vaccinated animal is disease free. This is false. Vaccination is ineffective against protozoic diseases like leishman and echinococcus, and parasite borne diseases like erlichiosis that can be carried by strays and trasmitted to our pets. Maintaining strays in large numbers is irresponsible towards legitimate pet owners.

I own a neutered female hunting dog. I dread the annual leishman test. So far we have been lucky, hope we will remain so.

[cyprusgrump]

Interesting…

Here all English owners are forced to licence their dogs…

The Cypriot dogs that live in tin sheds at the end of fields, often without regular food and water, are of course licensed, registered and chipped too…

[DANGAMAN]

I have solved the stray cat problem...

GorrilaGal is going to ship over 100's of 3 wheeler motorcycles

I am sure that will bring the numbers DOWN!!!

Just to let you know I too love cats, the other day I fed one...

...to my dog!!!
GG just joking, just joking