Kitties galore: Greece is the place for cat lovers

Anyone who loves cats will love Greece. And if you don´t love cats, be forewarned: furry feral felines are everywhere.

You´ll encounter them in markets, tavernas, along harbourfronts, outside monasteries and archeological sites, near garbage bins, checking out fishing boats – wherever there´s a chance of a free meal. Some are skittish, but others just want to say hello to visitors and nab some free petting.

We spent three weeks in Greece with our good friends Kathleen and Arthur, munching our way around Athens, pondering why monks built monasteries atop high rock pillars, exploring ancient stadiums, and celebrating Easter on the island of Hydra.

As a way of apologizing for those super-long blog stories, here is an eye candy array of photos of mousers, tabbies and toms.

Everywhere we went, furry friends appeared. Probably because Kathleen (left) is one of the biggest kitty magnets I know. I´ve often said that, if reincarnation is a thing, I want to come back as one of Kathleen´s cats. That would be a luxurious life of love!

A Meteora mouser (left) and a Hydra hisser knew the scenic spots for napping.

This handsome Hydra kitty sheltered from the hot sun under a fig tree. Before Greece joined the European Union, stray and feral cats were not always treated well. But EU membership meant the country had to adhere to animal welfare laws. People began setting up feeding stations and, even more importantly for health and population control, neutering homeless cats.

A warm wall and pretty flowers – perfect spot for a snooze. I learned the difference between feral and stray cats. Strays have been socialized with humans at some point in their past and will come over for a pet. Feral cats have never had regular human contact, so keep their distance.

Even cats appreciate a good historic landmark, such as the Leonard Cohen bench overlooking the sea. The plaque near the kitty´s nose explains that the famous Canadian poet, singer and songwriter had owned a home on Hydra.

Of course, cats don´t necessarily know beauty from ugliness. Mostly, they seek warmth – like these vehicular beauties.

A colleague of these cats plopped herself right in the centre of Meteora´s road to the monasteries and proceeded to bathe. Not safe! Fortunately, she moved before danger asserted itself.

Just down the hill from our Hydra apartment, cats mistook the row of garbage bins for a Gordon Ramsay restaurant. We dubbed them the Garbage Kitties.

It would be glossing over reality to say all the cats we encountered looked healthy and well-fed. Some were mangy, scabby and skinny.

Some cats reminded us of previous feline friends. This visitor to our Hydra apartment looked just like our Mittens, who lived to age 21.

In Kefalonia´s village of Assos, Kathleen petted a pretty grey tabby that reminded us of our Ellie, although much skinnier.

Galaxidi cats kept a close eye on the fishing boats, knowing a snack was imminent.

Along with traditional Greek moussaka and tzatziki, taverns and cafés feature purring ambassadors who offer their soft fur for obliging customers to stroke. So relaxing! Cats wander about and sit patiently, waiting for a piece of fish or chicken to fall like manna from heaven.

How can you resist those pleading eyes? We generally fell for it and dropped part of our meal. 

You can tell by the hunched shoulders that some cats were reluctant to get too close to humans, but their hunger for a bit of sardine (left, Athens) or kibble (Hydra) overcame their shyness.

Galaxidi gals know where the food arrives (right). The kitten´s notched ear (left) means he or she has been caught and neutered. The notch, or sometimes an ear tip clipped off, lets volunteers know from a distance that that cat doesn´t need catching again.  

Cats weren´t always in search of food. Sometimes they just wanted petting, as Arthur (right) found with a Kefalonia kitty. That cat then followed me to the parking lot after I petted it too. His ear was clipped. I asked if he wanted to become a Canadian or Portuguese cat, but he answered in Greek meows so I couldn´t understand him.

We encountered many cat-feeding stations on our travels – protected areas with dishes of water and kitty kibble. When this woman walked by us in Nafplio, and cats appeared from the bushes, we knew she was the local feeder.

Kathleen and I volunteered as kitty feeders on the car-free island of Hydra. I had contacted the volunteer group Hydra Ark ahead of our visit and offered to help during our four-day stay. Hydra Ark has installed 21 protected feeding stations around the island. The long grey-painted box houses a dormitory. 

Christina from Hydra Ark welcomed our help and asked us to fill food and water stations. Kathleen and I bought a bag of dry cat food, filled bottles with water, and carried them wherever we went. We filled the Hydra Ark station near our apartment (above) as well as others we discovered on our walks.

Sometimes we simply scattered kibble near kitties we encountered.

The kitty whisperer strikes again. Kathleen has a knack with the felines.

Even within Greece, that´s known for cats, Hydra is known as the Island of Cats. That´s a lot of cats!

We kept our Garbage Kitties well fed as well!

In addition to feeding and vaccinating stray cats, Hydra Ark’s volunteers also run TNR (trap, neuter, release) campaigns to keep the purring population under control. A vet comes from Athens for the TNR clinics.

Visitors can volunteer to help Hydra Ark catch cats for TNR sessions! (We visited over the Easter holidays, so there was no TNR session.)

Cats may be a footnote in Greece´s history, but they´ve left their mark!

Our Ziploc bag of kitty kibble and a bottle of water that we carried on our wanderings became Easter dinner for the cats we found. 

Not a CAT! Hydra Ark also looks out for the donkeys and other equines. Since Hydra is a car-free island, the horses, mules and donkeys work hard carrying people, food and equipment along cobbled lanes and up steep staircases.

Hydra horses and mules wait patiently for business at the harbour. Hydra Ark brings in an equine vet, dentist and farrier to provide health care.  

Hydra Ark has lobbied for a permanent shade structure and watering trough near the harbour. We often stood to the side of narrow alleys so horses, mules and donkeys loaded with boxes and crates could pass.

I desperately wanted to ride a donkey, but after reading Hydra Ark´s website, I decided not to. Instead, we went on a fun trek with Harriet´s Hydra Horses. Harriet Jarman pointed out several of her horses that she´d rescued from bad circumstances.  

Back to cat pictures. Phew! Cats are a trademark of Greece.

After volunteering to feed cats on Hydra, I wondered why I´d never done the same in Alcobaça, Portugal, where Bill and I live. Like in Greece, a clipped ear (cat´s left ear) in Portugal indicates a cat that has been fixed. Several informal feeding stations are scattered around town, plus a fancy new green kitty condominium. I resolved to regularly feed our furry vizinhos (neighbours).

We visited Greece in April 2025. Find out where we are right now by visiting our ‘Where’s Kathryn?’ page.