It seems like cats have been a mainstay of Athenian life for as long as anyone remembers, and you’ll hear different reasons for the situation depending on who you ask. Some say that the mild winters—which ensure most cats can survive year-round—are to blame. Others say that until about a century ago, spaying and neutering animals was seen as unnatural and taboo, leading to an explosion of unwanted cats. Still others say that generations of people feeding and looking after the cats without actually bringing them into their homes created the street cat surplus we see today. Whatever the reasons, most people agree that it’s best for the cats and their human neighbors to work toward controlling the population.
Because I’m a cat person and found the number of cats so interesting, I began researching the situation. In the process, I came across a nonprofit called Nine Lives Greece, which works to humanely control the stray cat population in Athens. They do this by rescuing and rehabilitating injured cats, who they then either match with families to be adopted or spay/neuter so that they don’t add to the population before returning them to the streets. I was drawn to their mission and approach; as such, I began volunteering with them as a web editor and helping by adding posts to their website for the cats they are trying to get adopted. The work is exciting because it allows me to make a small contribution to the community’s effort to address this unique need—and do so is good fun!
