More cats than people in Cyprus

[Paphos Life]

The National Committee for the Protection of Animals expects to meet by next month to decide how a one-off €75,000 state grant can be best used to help control Cyprus' out of control cat population....

Read the article and chat about it below...

[Galini]

OK it IS a step in the right direction but frankly €75,000 will not even scratch the surface of the problem !

It's also OK for the government to announce this but as of communications we (PARC) received last week, no one 'in authority' knows when the funds will be made available or even how it will be distributed. Meanwhile we start to get calls from people who have only read the news headline asking us to come and neuter the 20 cats they feed "because it's free now isn't it?"

Errr, that would be a big NO !

[WHL]

The only way to control the problem, is to get professional people in and have a cull.

[WHL]

Can you imagine the outcry? It'll never happen!

As a cat-lover (but not owner) myself, I believe a far more humane approach would be to spey and neuter (correct words?) the current generation of strays, and continue to do so on an ongoing basis, so that no future generations of today's strays are born.

HIC goodluck with that one...

[Dominic]

WHL were you here in the days of 'Shoot em up Sundays'? Locals used to literally hunt and shoot anything that was furry and moved in the streets -extremely barbaric and if you didn't keep your pets in they were usually murdered!

Years ago Christine from Paphiakos had to go and search through the dead bodies for her missing pet!

I think it's rather sick that you think this would be the answer, as HIC says there ARE more humane ways but only if they're done properly and in a controlled manner to stop the funds being 'misdirected'!!

WHL was talking about a professional cull. Not random locals wandering around with shotguns.

They cull deer in Richmond Park. However, nobody has pet deer, so there is no risk of shooting somebody's pet. I don't know how a cat culler would be able to distinguish.

[Galini]

The only way to control the problem, is to get professional people in and have a cull.

So pray tell - who would these 'professional people' be then ?

[WHL]

People who are experienced in culling animals...

[josef k]

I understand it costs around 25 euros to spey/neuter a cat. Given the estimated size of the cat population, the total cost of "doing" them would be 37.5 million euros. This is clearly beyond the ability of the government to cover. I also understand the average cat can reproduce at 5 or 6 months and can produce multiple litters in a year (it seems one cat and her young can produce 420000 cats in 7 years). So even if the government were to pay the cost, they would be running to stand still. We should also note the only significant predators cats on this island have are humans and cars.
Given all this, accepting the numbers may be approximate, there are only three options as I see it:

1. A cull by professionals (likely to last for years).
2. A cull by local "hunters" paid on a per cat basis (probably very effective but would cause general uproar, questions about cruelty, and likely to be a vote looser).
3. Accept things as they are and just put up with more and more cats.

On thing people could do is stop feeding "feral" cats and leave them to their own devices. Unlikely I know.

In a way it's a shame they are cute and fluffy. If they were reptilian most people wouldn't care about them.

[bromerzz]

I believe a cull is required, the promised funds might stretch to 2 possibly 3 professionals across the island for one years pay and expenses and they would need to be set pretty high quotas in order to achieve their "targets".
Some random thoughts-
Private pets would need to wear some sort of official neck collar to identify them from the Ferals.
Perhaps introduce some sort of Cat flu or a similar fatal disease into the feral cat population?
Give responsible cat owners a time frame in which to get their pets inoculated and then start the process.
Selective poisoning is another option and I am sure thats pretty easy to do as there are many out there with experience of it I'm sure.
Ban the import of any new cats onto the island.
Whatever they do - something or nothing- will not please everyone.
Just wish they would get on with it.

[Rita Sherry]

When I am away from Cyprus my cat is boarded at the "Farriers" cattery in Kouklia. The proprietor is Cynthia Smith who has a programme solely for the purpose of having stray cats speyed or neutered. She, along with other volunteers, goes out in all weathers trapping strays which are then taken to the vet for treatment. Many are adopted and those who are not are released back safe in the knowledge they will not be reproducing. She has to date had over 500 cats so treated and also works in conjunction with Mandys Fund the organisation who takes care of the Monastery cats. The money for this is raised by donations from the public and various fund raising events. 500 in the scheme of things is not a great number but there are at least 500 cats who will not be producing again.

This money the Government is going to set aside could, in my view, be utilised in supporting people like Cynthia and Mandy's Fund who all work for nothing to carry on their good work and would be able to expand their activities in this field. She works also in association with volunteers in Limassol and Nicosia.

Dominic I do believe that when the cats have received the treatment a nick is made in their ear so if they should be captured again they can be immediately released.

There are a number of Cypriots amongst her volunteers and certain restaurant owners have contacted her to have her collect their stray cats for treatment then return them as a deterrent to vermin so progress is being made in that attitude direction.

Anyone interested in information regarding Farriers or Mandy's Fund can go to the Farriers Web site.

Rita

[ApusApus]

Dominic I do believe that when the cats have received the treatment a nick is made in their ear so if they should be captured again they can be immediately released.

Rita

No, that's not the case! We adopted a kitten about 6 weeks ago (actually, I think it was the other way round) & had him neutered last week at Pafiakos where they didn't nick his ear.


Shane

[WHL]

WHL were you here in the days of 'Shoot em up Sundays'? Locals used to literally hunt and shoot anything that was furry and moved in the streets -extremely barbaric and if you didn't keep your pets in they were usually murdered!

Years ago Christine from Paphiakos had to go and search through the dead bodies for her missing pet!

I think it's rather sick that you think this would be the answer, as HIC says there ARE more humane ways but only if they're done properly and in a controlled manner to stop the funds being 'misdirected'!!

Try reading what I actually post, before replying...cheers

[WHL]

Rita - Cynthia and her team can only do so much bless them via Mandrys Fund.

Also as I've said these govt funded TNR schemes are open to misuse by certain vets claiming money for 'invisible' animals!

WHL - I think every idiot with a wretched gun would claim to be a 'professional' if there was money involved don't you? How on Earth would they all be checked and verified?!!

No I dont.

[trevnhil]

I wonder also how the 'Hunters' will spot a nick in the ear of a feral cat at 100 paces..

[ApusApus]

We've had 2 cats neutered now which haven't had their ears "nicked"! The other one was a female that we adopted after our Russian next door neighbours left suddenly! We took her down to Pafiakos only to find she had already been done but they still didn't nick her ear.


Shane

[WHL]

There are specialist people who cull animals, you bring them in to do your cull...whats so hard to understand.
Geoff shooting is not the only way to cull cats.

http://www.smh.com.au/national/war-on-f ... ucp4o.html

[Galini]

When cats are taken in to be neutered as 'ferals' then the vets put a nick in the ear. If people take in cats as their own pets then the ear is not nicked unless you ask for it to be done. This is because some people object to their pet cats' ear being nicked.

Sadly this does not help us people doing TNR because there are thousands of cats in Cyprus that have been abandoned or just left behind by their supposed owners. Sadly it does not help the cats either as there are many females who have to suffer the stress of being captured again and taken to the vet - sometimes the previous scar is obvious but sometimes it is not and at the very least the cat will have been anesthetised for nothing.

[Galini]

On another note - I wonder where this imaginary number of 1.5 million cats has come from? At best it can only be a vague estimate.

I also wonder what would happen to the populations of rats, mice, snakes, cockroaches etc if most of the cats on the Island were to disappear (or be 'gotten rid of' ) ?

[WHL]

On another note - I wonder where this imaginary number of 1.5 million cats has come from? At best it can only be a vague estimate.

I also wonder what would happen to the populations of rats, mice, snakes, cockroaches etc if most of the cats on the Island were to disappear (or be 'gotten rid of' ) ?

Well if there is such a vast amount of rats, mice, snakes, cockroaches etc etc, for the cats to munch on, it rather kills the argument these cat women use to feed the ferals?

[Rita Sherry]

Rita - Cynthia and her team can only do so much bless them via Mandrys Fund.

Also as I've said these govt funded TNR schemes are open to misuse by certain vets claiming money for 'invisible' animals!

WHL - I think every idiot with a wretched gun would claim to be a 'professional' if there was money involved don't you? How on Earth would they all be checked and verified?!!

No I dont.

Flossie

I agree completely regarding the limitations on Cynthia and her team plus others who voluntarily undergo this task but at least in her case there are 500 less cats capable of breeding in the future - a journey commences with the first step.

However I was perhaps musing to some extent in my suggestion that the authorities responsible for finding a solution to the problem of stray and feral cats might consider assisting those dedicated volunteers who at least are doing something worthwhile in doing the work they do by assisting with funding. As you say such a scheme has been tried before whereby Vets were given allowances to neuter cats but sadly some, not all, vets did not carry out the work and then as I understand it the Government sponsored scheme was halted for economic reasons. A properly organised scheme could be very effective in my view if labour such as the volunteers provide were utilised along with the professional help.

Rita