There are many ways
in which you can help us to help the
stray cats. If you’re based in
Athens, you could volunteer as a
feeder, transport cats to and from
the vet, adopt a cat or kitten, or
simply join us at our next
fundraising party. If you live
further afield, maybe you would like
to help us by donating some cat
food, signing up to our campaigns,
and helping us spread the word about
the importance of neutering and
responsible ownership of cats.
Donations
Donations of cat
food, spot-on anti-parasite
treatment (eg Frontline or
Stronghold), cat-carrying cages, cat
hospitalisation cages, cat traps or
any other equipment are most
gratefully received.
We also warmly
welcome any saleable items – such as
clean clothes, accessories, books,
DVDs, working electrical equipment,
household ornaments and kitchen
items – that you can spare for us to
sell at our monthly carboot sales.
If you wish to make a
donation to support our work, please
email us at
ninelivesgreece@gmail.com
Adoptions
|
We would love to find
good homes for all the cats we care
for. Most of the cats in the
colonies which we feed daily are,
despite often having lived rough for
years, extremely friendly and easily
adapt to being house cats. Indeed,
almost all of them started their
lives as pets, being abandoned when
they grew older, less cute or more
of a responsibility, or when their
owners’ circumstances changed.
|
|
At certain times of
the year, we are inundated with
newly dumped kittens that
desperately need homes – with the
threats of dogs, cars, illness and
poison, few kittens survive to
adulthood on the streets. But we
also have more mature cats that are
looking for Mr and/or Mrs Right to
adopt them. Some are older, getting
less nimble on their feet and less
able to cope with cold nights
perched in trees or hiding under
cars. Others are in the prime of
life: healthy and cuddly, but not
streetwise enough to survive. Some
specific cats are featured on our
Adoptions page, but
there are many, many more looking
for a warm bed and a family to call
their own.
 |
Fostering:
If you can’t offer a
permanent home, maybe you can foster a
cat or kitten for a short period. We are
always looking for people who can take
on young kittens until we find them
long-term homes. Equally, we often need
places where cats can stay to recuperate
after surgery or during medical
treatment.
|
Carboot sale:
On the last Sunday of every month, we
take part in a carboot sale organised by
SPAZ charity at Athens’ former airport.
It runs from around 8am until around
2pm, and items on sale range from
secondhand designer clothes to DVDs to
seasonal decorations. Please come along
to do some shopping at bargain prices;
every cent you spend on our stall goes
towards the feeding and care of cats in
central Athens, and part of the money
made on every other stall goes to help
SPAZ with its all-important work
neutering stray dogs in the southern
suburbs.
Buffet party:
Every so often, we organise special
fundraising activities. In October, we
had a Bohemian Cats Buffet at Café
Boheme restaurant in Kolonaki. For just
20 euros per person, our supporters
enjoyed a delicious Mediterranean
spread, a glass of wine and jazz-funk
music chosen by the in-house DJ. A big
thank you to Cassie and Mimis of Café
Boheme for making this possible, as well
as to all who turned up and helped make
it an evening to remember. Watch this
space for details of upcoming parties!
Film festival:
Our next activity will be a festival of
animal-themed films held at a bar in
central Athens. Instead of paying for a
ticket, guests will be asked to bring
along tins of cat or dog food. The film
evening is planned for early-March. For
more details, email us or keep an eye on
our website.
Nine Lives cards:
Our supporter Heather B,
card-designer extraordinaire, has
generously created a number of handmade
greeting cards featuring our feline
friends especially for Nine Lives. If
you would like to buy an exclusive
Heather B card (priced at 5 euros each),
please send us an email.
|
|
Do act if you see
kittens or cats with runny noses
and eyes sealed shut with puss.
This is cat-flu, a disease that
requires immediate and long-term
treatment. Try to wipe the
animal’s eyes clean with Tobrex
drops from the chemist, and take
to the nearest vet for a course of
antibiotics.
Do report poisonings to the
police. Poisoning companion
animals is illegal under Greek law
(law 3170).
Do take ill or injured street cats
to the nearest vet. If you cannot
find a vet – or if there isn’t one
nearby – contact the local animal
welfare group (Greek Animal
Welfare Fund has details for
groups in many areas of Greece,
email
gawfgr@otenet.gr
or ring 00 30 210 384 0010).
Don’t be frightened
that you might catch rabies: the
disease has not been seen in
Greece since the 1970s.
Don’t feed stray
cats from your restaurant table.
You could irritate the owners or
other customers, which could
result in the cats being harmed.
Do keep leftover
meat or fish and feed it to stray
cats by the nearest rubbish bin or
at the kerb underneath a parked
car.
Do keep a bag or
box of dry cat food with you to
feed to any hungry strays you
meet.
Do try to make sure
that stray cats have access to
clean water (in summer, they
usually drink from dripping
air-conditioning units).
Don’t give cats or
kittens milk. It will give them
diarrhoea.
Lastly, and most
importantly: DO encourage all
cat-owners and stray cat-feeders
to get their animals neutered. It
means a healthier, longer, less
dangerous life for the cat, and is
the only proven, long-term
solution to the stray animal
problem. |
|