Trap, Neuter, Release – A TNR Diary
Our founder Jacky gives her account of two full-on days trapping, neutering and releasing 14 females in colonies on the outskirts of Ermoupoli. This was generously funded by a supporter in the Netherlands and assisted by the local knowledge of our wonderful Syros neighbours!
Jacky’s story
It’s a bright sunny November morning on the Greek island of Syros. I’m in town early to meet one of the many cat guardians, who have taken it upon themselves to reduce animal suffering by feeding the large quantities of stray cats that frequent every corner of every village. They are uncountable, and although the cat feeders know their colonies, these cats often migrate over large territories and may also attend several feeding stations.
I haven’t met Katerina before. She’s one of many who, overwhelmed by feline numbers, have contacted us for help. She’s spending a small fortune on food, and cannot possibly stretch her finances to cover veterinary bills for sterilising. So she looks helplessly on as more kittens are produced at regular intervals.
Today she’s in luck. A frequent visitor to the island, who has seen the poor state of these colonies, has raised money in The Netherlands. Enough to sterilise eleven female cats. And has asked us to help.
I wait at the appointed place.
Soon a woman on a moped comes up the hill. I know it’s Katerina, because cats rush out to follow her – she’s like The Pied Piper – about twenty strays, young, old, all colours rush from their cover. They run from under bushes, from nearby abandoned buildings and under rubbish bins from all directions; for those who haven’t seen these cat problems for themselves, it’s unimaginable.
My elderly car is full of traps, drop cages and transfer cages. One of my volunteers has come to help. We set ourselves up and signal to Katerina to put a small amount of food out on the wall. She rattles the can of meat, calling the cats. We’re spoilt for choice and soon catch four females, which we transfer into transit cages and cover to keep them calm, ready for the short journey to the vet. But Katerina has more surprises for us. We don’t have much common language, so with a few words and some signs, we follow her to her next feeding station. Many of these cats are already sterilised – she has paid for these herself. We pick up a couple more, then she takes us to her main place. We realise this is more than a one-day job; the vets won’t have time to sterilise more than about eight cats a day, fitting them in around their other customers.
We bring the total to seven and agree to meet again the next day. Katerina has four colonies around a small marina and the old isolation centre. I drop the cats into the vet. She will operate today and keep them overnight, so if fully recovered, they can be released tomorrow. We transfer some of the cats into the vet’s cages, so we have our catch cages ready for the next day.
After recovering for the night, we meet up again. While the bravest cats who have had surgery already are waiting to be released, but still confined, it’s a good opportunity to catch the ones who evaded us yesterday. We pick up five very easily, all females and as I’m taking them to the vet and Katerina is releasing the recovered captive ones, I spot a target cat feeding quietly on the wall, so pick her up too, creeping up stealthily behind her while she’s otherwise occupied. Feral cats are not so easy to catch; they are canny, resourceful and can protect themselves, so handling has to be minimal.
I drive back to collect Katerina and a young calico is rubbing around her on the wall. Calicos are almost always female, but we’ve no catch cages left. I open a plastic box and Katerina skilfully walks her in, while I bang the door shut. Another female cat that can live out her life happily, without the constant round of pregnancy, birth and caring for kittens.
We’ve overachieved from the funding that has been raised, so resolve to have a marketing campaign in 2025, to help more cat guardians like Katerina in the future. There are a lot of them on the island and they need, and deserve, our support.
Help our TNR efforts in 2025!
We have ambitious TNR goals for the rest of the year and beyond, so watch this space! But, as ever, how much we can do will very much depend on available funds. If you would like to donate to our TNR campaign, please go to the donations page on our website
