Kibkom North Cyprus Forum

This evening I realised that someone during the course of this afternoon has stolen the large washing up bowl that I keep filled up with water and leave outside our wall for stray cats and dogs to have a drink. It's clearly left on a tiny piece of land which belongs to us. I leave a small but heavy rock in it to stop the bowl blowing away. This is the 3rd time this has happened this summer and I just can't understand how people can be so mean and greedy as to steal second hand washing up bowls. Sad isn't it?

Just hope that thei rneed is greater than that of the animals who need the water. why ohn why would anyone do that.

Same thing has happens to me, I dont think mine are being stolen because they need the bowls, but because they dont want me feeding and watering the animals. I have changed to tin foils and put them out first thing in the morning and late in the afternoon. My neighbours believe like a lot of folk do, that feeding and watering only encourages them to stay.

I am in sympathy with those that take the bowls. I do not want to encourage all the strays around my home they can become a nuisance.
Unfortunatley it is a fact of life here and in most other third world countries that there is an abundance of stray animals, you either get used to it or get swamped with a yard full of unwanted critters. But if you do that expect to take lots of flak from the local popolous and if you can not accept that then you are living in the wrong country.

OK throw the knives now but just so you know we currently have 4 cats that adopted us, had one die in agony recently after being stung by something which we could do nothing about, lost another 2 who just decided they wanted to live elsewhere and another that had lived her 3 score years and 10 and just moved on to the next life.

Where did the "stray" problem start?
I first came to Cyprus in the late 60s and none of the Cypriots kept "pets"
I don't think it is anything to do with "third world" but an imported problem - like many others !!

I know it does seem mean to take the bowls, but I do understand that a lot of people don't want hordes of strays around their houses. When I had my own 5 cats that I brought from England, a stray turned up in a terrible state and then had kittens in the garden. My neighbour begged me not to feed them, but how could I not? Anyway, I assured her I would get them "done", which KAR kindly did, and while I understand why I did this 3 years ago, I wish I had listened to my neighbours advice. As I feed mother and kids outside, it' s a constant battle to keep other strays away, and to keep them out of the house. A Cypriot neighbour a few doors down. fed a few strays, and she now has over 20 cats in her garden. Her immediate Cypriot neighbours can't open their doors in the summer without strays running in trying to get more food. It's a nightmare. We want to help, but are we making it worse?

I probably didn't make myself clear on this subject and I do understand peoples feelings on the subject, but our circumstances are not the same as a lot of people and in my defense I will explain We don't have any TC neighbours nor in fact do we EVER see or hear feral cats. My dogs loathe cats and the message has got round, but we do have the occasional stray dog that has wandered further and further up towards the mountains, who, in this weather is suffering with severe dehydration.
To ignore this fact would, in my eyes, be tantamount to cruelty to an animal. Virtually the only people passing our house are Belediye workmen who go on a daily basis to check on water levels, together with Kibtek staff reading the meters of houses that have not been lived in for 3 years or more (don'task!!) or occasionally people taking a short cut to Ilgas to avoid the police late a night.

I think we all understand what your saying, and of course I'm sure most of us understand why you want to put water out. The first year I was hear I did as well but the bowls just disappeared, and then we got a couple of stray dogs in the garden, so I stopped it. It's just a very difficult situation with stray animals that has been discussed loads of times on the forums, and unless the Government intervene, it's just going to carry on, with Margaret Ray and her fellow workers doing the best they can, while taking loads of abuse.

The other thing you have to bear in mind is it is not just stray cats and dogs that will come for water and food.

If I were a workman having, presumably, to open boxes and enclosed spaces where rats or snakes might be hiding, I wouldn't be very keen on anything that encouraged them into the area. The next stage might be poison, which could also affect pet animals. Sometimes you just have to be cruel to be kind.

Stella: What are your suggestions as to how the Government should intervene. ? Personally I think there should be a moratoreum on the importation (with limited exceptions for long standing and neutered pets) and breeding of dogs, but that alone gets me verbally abused. To suggest a cull is setting light to the blue touchpaper. Registration only penalises the conscientious (who are already spending too much caring for stays) - careless(or simply impoverished) "owners" , let alone animals with no home, do not trot along to the various offices to hand over money to the Goverment!

rambling rose there is a registration scheme now so why don't the Belidye enforce it? It is not because they do not have enough staff (they will argue different of course) it is the same answer as given for building registarions, water and electric payments etc - nepotism!

You are right in stopping imports of animals, could work like car importing ie the pet must have owned you for a specified time.

Given that many strays have been neutered already through the efforts of KAR to prevent further breeding I agree with Stella that government intervention is the only solution which means enforcing the registration scheme first and then culling the offenders.

The trouble with the registration system is that the Belediye "shoot first and as questions afterwards" There was a case in the paper within the last week or so where an official shot a dog in front of its TC owner. The dog had been registered etc. HOWEVER, only a tiny proportion of the Belediye hand out a numbered disc to fix to the dog collar, so there is nothing to show the official. TC's by and large do not put name and contact number on the collar. If only they could be persuaded that to spay and neuter their animals is the only way forward, until then KAR will continue to struggle. Even intelligent TC's people I know have had the bitch spayed but will under no circmstnces whatsoever, neuter the male. We're back to the male macho nonsense "cutting his balls off, would be the same as cutting mine off". Believe me I was tempted!!!!

I know there is a registration system - it costs people who care for strays a lot of money they can ill afford , and , for instance, I had to pay for a bitch at unneutered rate simply because she was too young for the op at registration time! There should be a reduced rate for rescued dogs, to encourage people to adopt strays rather than buy.

As for the discs, they easily slip off collars and get lost, and collars themselves get broken, lost or stolen. Microchipping is no use because there is no data base. I heard that in France they tatoo the inside of a dog's ear, makes sense to me!

HOW would they enforce registration. Send someone to every house to check if they had dogs and and registration docs? I think they genuinely wouldn't have enough staff for that!

Shooting all unregistered dogs would cause as outcry among both the locals and the expats. AS Sir Humphrey would say, it would be a brave politician who advocated that. And I doubt there are enough Vets (even if they would do it) to euthanise humanely,

Neutering seems to me the kindest way, but first catch the dog! And this is an Island, they dont check dogs and cats at the Border. To work it would have to be bicommunal and I guess both Governments would feel they had more urgent priorities.

A case for the UN or EU? But send qualified staff, not just throw money at the problem. AS someone said above there are places where animals are treated for worse than here.