TOURISTS

Our social media campaign "Help a cat friend in need" was published in spring 2026. Aimed at tourists it highlighted concerns related to homeless cats and concrete ways to help them. The campaign was done in collaboration with The Rhodian Stray Animal Association in Finland and had 6 different themes on which this page is based on:

1. Welcome to Cyprus!
2. Helping a sick or injured cat
3. Helping kittens
4. Taking a cat for spaying or neutering
5. Adopting a cat through an organization
6. Adopting a cat on your own

WELCOME TO CYPRUS!

The situation with cats in Cyprus is extremely difficult; there are stray cats in Cyprus more than there are in any other country in the world and solving the issue has been bestowed on the shoulders of volunteers. The cats reproduce uncontrollably and the latest estimates say that on this island of 1.3 million people there are around 1.5 to 2 million homeless cats. The government funds some spaying and neutering campaigns of the cats, but in such small numbers that this drop in the ocean sort of managing the issue hasn't really made any difference. You can read more about the situation here.

Many of the cats on this island have their helpers already; they've been spayed or neutered and someone feeds them. However, if you come across a cat in need, take action immediately – the cat will get help the fastest when you help yourself and do not pass the responsibility on to someone else. You can always ask for advice, but for example taking the cat to the vet is relatively simple to arrange yourself. For those who are used to Finnish prices, vet fees are low and the cat can be left at the clinic for treatment.

Many people realize the situation when they are already on their vacation in Cyprus and ask us what they could do. You can help the island's cats when you are planning your trip by choosing animal-friendly tour operators, hotels and restaurants. Cats are everywhere in Cyprus, so you can find mentions of them in reviews and even ask directly. Tourism is such an important source of income in Cyprus that tourists have more influence than you think, use this to the benefit of the cats!

You can also help the cats by escorting them to their homes waiting for them in Finland. You can act as a flight parent if you have at least 15 days before your flight and the airline you are using also flies cats. More information about flight parenting here.

HELPING A SICK OR INJURED CAT

If you encounter a sick or injured cat in Cyprus, act as soon as possible, not on the last day of your trip. The sooner the cat gets help, the better the chances of recovery. When helping however, do not separate newborn kittens from their mothers.

In practice, you can start by finding the nearest vet to take the cat to. We will have a list of clinics we recommend on our website, but you can also find them by googling. Ask if you can bring the cat and what the estimated cost of treatment will be. Pet carriers are cheap in Cyprus, but you can also transport the cat in a sturdy cardboard box from the nearest store after you've made airholes to it and made sure it stays shut. Transport assistance you can ask from your hotel or other travelers staying there. Taxis also transport cats when you have agreed on this in advance.

In Cyprus you can leave a cat at a clinic for treatment for a relatively low price. For example, overnight treatment with medication usually costs 20-30€/night, with a maximum of 50€/night. Once the cat is released from the vet, return it to where you found it, since a stray cat is more likely to survive in a familiar environment. If you can, monitor the cat's well-being for the rest of your trip.

HELPING KITTENS

Kitten season in Cyprus starts around March and ends in the winter months, so anyone traveling to Cyprus will very likely see kittens, both with and without their mothers. Unfortunately Cyprus has barely any animal shelters and the few that do exist are always full. Volunteers take kittens into foster care, but it's difficult to find free space. The heartbreaking reality in Cyprus is that there are millions of stray cats and not enough help for everyone.

Kittens with a mother do relatively well. Please don't take kittens away from their mother who may be away for long periods of time looking for food. If you find an orphaned kitten that you think is too young to survive on its own however, you can try to find a foster home. Unfortunately we have such a long queue to ours that we cannot help directly, no matter how much we'd want to. Take a picture of the kitten(s) and share it, for example, in the Cyprus Cats Who Need Homes Or Help! -group on Facebook. Include the general area, do not share the exact location publicly. If you're lucky, you'll find a local who still has room in their home.

The most effective way to help is to offer spaying or neutering for an adult stray cat. Every cat that is spayed or neutered helps prevent kittens from being born into a life where survival is uncertain.

TAKING A CAT FOR SPAYING OR NEUTERING

Cat spaying or neutering is the most effective way to address the problematic cat situation in Cyprus. If you encounter a cat during your trip that you would like to have spayed or neutered, first check its ears. Vets will mark a cat that has been spayed or neutered and is returning to the streets with a small notch at the tip of the earlobe. If there is no notch, the cat is likely not spayed or neutered. You can ask for help in the Cyprus TNR ("trap, neuter, release") groups on Facebook or take action yourself.

Like with sick and injured cats, you can start by finding the nearest vet to take the cat to. We will have a list of clinics we recommend on our website, but you can also find them by googling. Ask if you can bring the cat and what the estimated cost of treatment will be. Tell them you are bringing in a stray cat, not your own pet. Pet carriers are cheap in Cyprus, but you can also transport the cat in a sturdy cardboard box from the nearest store after you've made airholes to it and made sure it stays shut. Transport assistance you can ask from your hotel or other travelers staying there. Taxis also transport cats when you have agreed on this in advance.

In Cyprus you can leave a cat at a clinic for treatment for a relatively low price. The spaying of a cat costs around 50-120€, the neutering around 40-100€ depending on the clinic. The price includes an antibiotic injection and one night at the clinic. Remember to ask for their ear to be marked! Once the cat is released from the vet, return it to where you found it, since a stray cat is more likely to survive in a familiar environment. If you can, monitor the cat's well-being for the rest of your trip.

If taking a cat for surgery seems too much of a hassle, you can also help by sponsoring the spaying or neutering of a cat in Cyprus by contacting us or our partner organization P.A.W.S. (Protecting Animals Without Shelter) directly. They will coordinate the matter forward between different organizations across Cyprus. When sponsoring through us the price for spaying is 60€, neutering 50€.

ADOPTING A CAT THROUGH AN ORGANIZATION

Cyprus has no municipal animal shelters to which homeless cats can be taken, so they simply disappear and cease to exist in silence unless private individuals help them. The number of local adoptions is vanishingly small, so adopting abroad is the only lifeline for most of the cats there.

When you adopt, adopt from a responsible organization. A responsible organization helps locally as well in addition to taking proper care of the cat until it is homed, tracking the cat's health, making travel arrangements and complying with regulations regarding entry to the destination country. The latter of these is particularly important in Finland because we lack quarantine facilities for animals imported into the country in violation of regulations. This means that there's a risk of euthanasia for those brought into the country illegally.

The organization will support you both during the adoption process and after the cat has been homed. Kyproskissat ry also has its own closed group for the families of cats who have found homes through us, so you also get peer support. If for some reason the cat has to find a new home, the organization will do this for the adopter.

But please do not adopt on a whim or out of pity. Consider the time and financial resources you can give – a cat can and hopefully will live with you for the next 20 years.

ADOPTING A CAT ON YOUR OWN

Bringing a stray cat with you from a trip is not an easy or quick task and requires dedication. Please note that an adult cat that has lived on the streets their entire life may not get used to being an indoor cat and may have a completely different personality when confined inside. This possibility should be tested somehow before the flight.

Whatever you do, start by taking the cat to a vet. Before travelling to Finland they will need a microchip, rabies vaccination and a passport. We recommend getting the combination vaccines as well, treating the cat against fleas, ticks and endoparasites and testing at least FIV and FeLV (feline leukemia virus and feline immunodeficiency virus). The rabies vaccine can be given to a cat at the age of 12 weeks at the earliest and it has to be 21 days old before the cat's flight. If you're not staying this long in the country yourself you will need a place for the cat for this time period and because the volunteers have their hands full, a cat hotel is your best bet.

When the 21 days has passed after the rabies vaccine you can fly with your cat to Finland. If you find a flight parent instead, remember to take care of TRACES documentation as well since this is considered a commercial import. You can read more about pet transport between EU countries at the website of our Food Authority, here. If the cat travelling with a flight parent is under 6 months of age you will also need a contract detailing the transfer of ownership between you and a local operator (foster home, organization etc.) done before the flight. More information on this at the website of our Food Authority, here.