Cats might outnumber people on feline-friendly island
There’s a cat problem on the island of cats.
Authorities in the small island nation of Cyprus in the eastern corner of the Mediterranean estimate that there is about one feral cat for every one million human inhabitants, but activists claim the actual population is hundreds of thousands more.
In September the island’s parliamentary environment committee was told that the current sterilization program was too limited to control the growing cat population.
Change may be on the way, but funding alone will not solve Cyprus’ cat problem.
Heeding calls for more funding, Environment Minister Maria Panayiotou announced on October 4, World Animal Day, that the government would increase its annual cat sterilization fund to 300,000 euros ($530,000). The decision was hailed as an important step forward.
Given the predatory nature of cats, a large population not only has the potential to harm the island’s ecosystem, but could also cause extreme suffering to feral felines wandering through car-clogged streets in search of food and shelter.
Cyprus has a long history as a cat-loving country, where cat food dispensaries and clustered tiny houses are a regular sight along popular footpaths.
Twenty years ago French archaeologists unearthed what they believed to be the oldest evidence of a domesticated cat in a 9,500-year-old neolithic village. The bones of a cat were found near the skeletal remains of a human, indicating that they were buried together.
Added to this long history of the human-cat connection is the 4th-century legend of St. Helen, who brought several boatloads of cats to deal with an infestation of snakes after finding the True Cross in the Holy Land. St. Nicholas of the Cats, a monastery that serves as a safe haven for cats, still exists today.
With tourism being a major economic driver for Cyprus, the island’s cats have become a major attraction for the millions of holidaymakers who come to the island every year.
Well-fed felines are a common sight as they feast on leftovers provided by visitors at the many restaurants where they like to hang out.
