Cyprus cats and kittens looking for UK homes.

Snuggles · #1 (**permalink**) 03-11-2011, 04:58 PM

I hope this is ok to post on here.

I've recently returned from a holiday to Cyprus and knew it wasn't going to bode very well when then first thing I saw as I got off the coach was a poorly, scabby, malnourished ginger kitten.

After 2 sleepless nights, I decided I had to do something and managed to get in touch with a lovely lady called June. She moved out there nearly 10 years ago from the UK with her partner looking for a better life but instead they have completely devoted themselves to trying to help some of the strays of Cyprus.

June agreed to help ginger kitten so we took a trip across the island to get him safe and I got to meet June and talk to her about her work.

I have been involved in rescue for a number of years and more than once have seen people hit a wall of desperation when the emotional turmoil has ground them down and there doesn't seem to be any light in whichever direction they look. I saw that same despair when I met June and have come home vowing to do something to try and help.

Ginger kitty- Manwell is safe and will be joining me with another kitten-who we found in her car engine while we were stood talking (you couldn't make it up

) early next year.

She has lots of other cats, kittens, dogs and puppies all needing homes to call their own. There just aren't any homes for them in Cyprus, so she pays for their Pet Passports out of her own pocket and just asks for a minimum donation of £100 towards the cost of the flight for cats or £150 for dogs.

Some of the animals in her care can be found on the following link: Cyprus Cat and Dog Rescue. Rescuing Animals from Neglect and Mis-Treatment. Campaign to bring 30 cats to the United Kingdom (UK)

I know this country has its own problem with strays but what I saw out there is just in another league. Dead dogs and cats laying on the road sides, an entire colonies of cats infected with cat flu and no-one to care. They are treated with less humanity than what we consider to be 'vermin' over here.

June does care but is in serious need of help to continue with the amazing work that she does.

Would you consider adopting one of the animals in her care?
Could you make a donation towards the up keep of the animals or towards the neutering scheme she runs?
Could you send a donation of flea or worming treatment? (It is very expensive over there)
Could you help out with fund raising?
Could you write a letter to the Cypriot government regarding animal welfare?

If you could help in any way, I'm sure that June would love to hear from you. These poor animals didn't ask to be born and it was sheer bad luck that they were born in a country that cares so little.

This seems to have turned into quite a ramble. If you've got this far, thank you.

lizward · #2 (**permalink**) 03-11-2011, 05:04 PM

I knew someone once (she's died now) who had a villa in Cyprus and she went through a regular routine where young UK vets came out for a working neutering holiday, staying in the villa and operating there too.

Liz

Snuggles · #3 (**permalink**) 03-11-2011, 05:09 PM

Their government has sadly put a stop to catch, neuter, release programmes set up by other countries after the local vets complained that they were losing money.

It is sheer madness.

kelly-joy · #4 (**permalink**) 03-11-2011, 05:52 PM

We can't help with funding or anything but if we can help with home checking possible homes, transporting animals when in England do let us know.

Snuggles · #5 (**permalink**) 04-11-2011, 07:20 AM

Thank you so much kelly-joy.

Dante · #6 (**permalink**) 10-11-2011, 09:32 AM

Cyprus is the one place I can safely say I was astounded by the amount of strays there were.. The hotel I stayed at actually looked after and fed practically an entire colony, in the evenings I'd sit there surrounded by them and one even followed me three flights of steps back up to the apartment. These were fairly healthy but just walking around the town made you realise how bad the situation was.

Such a sad sight and I can only imagine her frustration at not being able to help them all

Snuggles · #7 (**permalink**) 12-01-2012, 04:09 PM

I just want to 'bump' this up because June and her husband are at breaking point.

Here is what she wrote on the rescue's FB page this morning.

Quote:

We have an announcement to make and sadly it is not a decision we have come to lightly.

Both of us have been sick over the last few weeks and are struggling to get better, to be honest we have been running our self more and more into the ground over the last year and this is probably why we are struggling to stay on our feet now.

Although sick we still have near 100 animals to take care, go to our full times jobs to support those animals and ourselves as well has look after a home and ourselves, when really we need at least a week or two in bed to get better.

We have had no luck to get any physical help and mentally we just cannot cope any more. We have had to make a decision and that is if we don't reduce our number immediately by finding permanent or foster homes for the animals in our care we will not be able to help one more single kitten, cat, puppy or dog any more.

Getting up at 4.30am and only getting around 5 disturbed hours of sleep a night is killing us, as well as not getting any time to relax or eat a decent meal. We don't have enough time to give for the animals in our care and it is not fair on them, although safe and fed it is still not a life for them in a cage with hardly and human contacts except at feeding/cleaning time.

This means that more animals in cyprus will suffer because we can't help them and this is heart breaking in a big way. I myself are sick off work this week while Michael has still struggled to go to work because both of us are worried about losing our jobs, he is not fit enough to go to work but has to go.

I had to go to the doctor on Monday and just a few metres from the next village someone had deliberately mowed down in their car two beautiful black puppies. They were both dead in a pool of blood within metres of each other in the middle of the road. Not long happened. Both had collars on. I had to drag their poor bodies out of the road, it was terrible. It makes me sick that someone did this, I know this happens every day in Cyprus and to be honest I don't know how much more me and Michael can stomach seeing this.

In the same day I saw another dead dog on the road and three starving stray dogs of which all ran away from me when I pulled up to at least give them food.

We cannot continue to help animals in the situation we are in and beg you all to please help us find permanent or foster homes for as many cats and dogs as soon as possible around Europe so these animals get the life they deserve.

We have done the best for them by saving them but now they need warmth, love and security in a life time home, please help us find this for them. Once we reduce our numbers to less than 50% we can help animals again. We still feed animals on the streets and also steralise them when we can.

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE HELP US TO HELP THESE ANIMALS.

Our website is not completely up to date, we have many animals ready to be adopted so please contact us direct by email for further information.

THANK YOU

If anyone is in a position to help, this lady/these animals need your help more than ever and I'm sure she would be very grateful to hear from you.

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