The Scale of the Problem

Greece has a significant population of stray cats. Many are born into established colonies, where unsterilised cats continue to reproduce over successive generations.

Cats can reach sexual maturity surprisingly early and females may have multiple litters in a year. Without effective population management, numbers can increase rapidly. A small number of cats can therefore become a much larger colony within a relatively short period of time.

This is not a problem that developed overnight and it cannot be resolved overnight. Sustainable change requires ongoing sterilisation, veterinary care, responsible feeding, community involvement and long term support.

Life on a Small Island

Milos is a beautiful and unique place, but like many smaller and more remote communities, it has limited infrastructure and resources. Veterinary services are not as readily available as they may be in larger cities.

During busy periods, particularly the tourist season, demand for veterinary care can increase considerably. Local residents, veterinarians and volunteers work within the resources available to them, but the level of need can sometimes exceed what those resources can realistically accommodate.

This means that even when someone is willing to help an animal, immediate assistance is not always possible. These limitations are not necessarily a reflection of a lack of compassion. They are often a reflection of capacity.

Not Every Cat Has Someone

It is easy to assume that a stray cat is being cared for simply because someone feeds it. In reality, the situation is more complicated.

Many local residents dedicate considerable time, effort and personal resources to caring for community cats. They provide food and water, monitor colonies, seek veterinary treatment when possible and arrange sterilisation where they can.

However, not every cat has a dedicated caregiver.

Some cats rely on food left behind by visitors or on temporary sources of food that may disappear when the tourist season ends. Others survive by scavenging or finding whatever resources are available.

Being able to survive is not the same as having a safe, healthy or secure life.

The Hidden Struggles

The difficulties faced by stray cats are not always immediately visible. Much of the suffering is gradual and easily overlooked.

It can include:

• Untreated eye infections that can cause significant pain and, in severe cases, permanent damage to vision.
• Dental disease or broken teeth that make eating uncomfortable or difficult.
• Injuries sustained through fighting, accidents or territorial disputes that can become infected without appropriate treatment.
• Pregnant and nursing mothers struggling to obtain enough food and water for themselves and their kittens.
• Young kittens exposed to extreme heat, dehydration, illness, parasites and other environmental risks.

These are realities that rarely feature in holiday photographs, but they can form part of everyday life for stray cats.

Why Sterilisation Matters

Food is an important part of caring for animals. Access to adequate food and clean water can make an immediate difference to a cat's health and wellbeing.

However, feeding alone does not address the underlying issue of population growth.

Sterilisation helps prevent unwanted litters and can reduce the number of kittens born into an environment where food, shelter and veterinary care may be limited. It can also reduce behaviours associated with reproduction, including roaming and fighting, and may contribute to healthier, more stable colonies over time.

Importantly, sterilisation does not mean removing cats from their established environments. When combined with appropriate care and monitoring, Trap–Neuter–Return (TNR) provides a practical and humane way to manage free-roaming cat populations while allowing healthy cats to remain in their familiar territory.

TNR is widely used as a population-management approach for community cats, particularly where large-scale removal or rehoming is neither practical nor sustainable.

Sterilisation is therefore not simply about preventing kittens from being born. It is about reducing future suffering and allowing limited food, veterinary and volunteer resources to support a more manageable population.

Summer on Milos

Summer is one of the most beautiful times to visit Milos. For stray cats, however, the season can present significant challenges. Temperatures can become very high, and prolonged exposure to heat increases the risk of dehydration and heat related illness. Cats may spend much of the hottest part of the day seeking shade beneath vehicles, vegetation, buildings and other structures.

Access to reliable fresh water is particularly important during periods of extreme heat, as water sources can dry out or become warm and less accessible.

Summer also brings a large increase in the island's human population. Visitors often feed cats, which can provide valuable additional food. However, this can also create the impression that food will always be available.

When the tourist season ends and visitors leave, those temporary food sources may disappear.

Summer is also a significant breeding period for cats. Without sterilisation, female cats can give birth to multiple litters, contributing to an ongoing cycle of population growth. For kittens born into stray colonies, the first months of life can be particularly vulnerable to disease, parasites, extreme temperatures, inadequate nutrition and other environmental hazards.

Winter on Milos

When the tourist season ends, the character of the island changes considerably.

Many restaurants and seasonal businesses close, holiday accommodation becomes quieter and the large number of visitors who may have provided occasional food and attention return home.

The cats, however, remain. Winter can bring strong winds, rain and colder temperatures, making access to dry, sheltered spaces more difficult. Food can also become less predictable when seasonal businesses and visitors are no longer present.

Local caregivers and volunteers continue to support colonies throughout the winter, often providing food and monitoring cats despite challenging weather conditions.

This is why year-round support is so important.

The needs of Milos' stray cats do not end when summer ends. In some respects, the quieter winter months can bring a different set of challenges, particularly for cats that have limited access to reliable food, shelter or veterinary care.

Long term improvement depends not on one season, one person or one intervention, but on sustained community effort, particularly sterilisation, responsible feeding, veterinary care, monitoring and education.

What Is Trap–Neuter–Return?

TNR is a population management method used in many countries to manage free-roaming cat populations. It combines humane trapping, veterinary sterilisation and returning cats to their established territory. When carried out responsibly alongside ongoing monitoring and care, TNR can help reduce breeding and improve the welfare and stability of cat colonies over time.

How Does TNR Work?

Despite its name, TNR involves more than simply sterilising a cat.

1. Trap

Cats are carefully captured using humane live traps designed to contain them safely. Trapping should be carried out by people who understand how to handle cats appropriately and minimise stress.

2. Neuter

The cat is transported to a veterinarian and sterilised under general anaesthesia.

Where resources and veterinary protocols allow, the cat may also receive an examination and additional care. This can include parasite treatment, vaccination, treatment of minor medical conditions or other appropriate veterinary care.

3. Return

After surgery and an appropriate recovery period, the cat is returned to the location where it was originally found.

This final step is fundamental to TNR.

Stray cats are familiar with their own territories. They know where food, water and shelter can be found and are accustomed to the other cats and environmental conditions around them.

Removing cats without providing an appropriate alternative can create another problem. When a territory becomes vacant, other unsterilised cats may move into the area, allowing breeding to continue.

Returning sterilised cats helps maintain a more stable population while preventing those cats from producing further litters.

Why Not Simply Remove All the Cats?

This is one of the most common questions surrounding stray cat populations.

Adoption and rehoming are valuable options, particularly for kittens, friendly adults and cats that are injured or otherwise unsuitable for outdoor life. However, not every stray cat is a suitable candidate for adoption.

Some adult cats have lived outdoors for most or all of their lives. Others are extremely fearful of people and may experience significant stress when confined or placed in unfamiliar surroundings.

There is also a practical limitation: the number of suitable homes, foster carers, shelters and rescue resources is finite.

For this reason, population management cannot rely on adoption alone. TNR provides another option for cats that are healthy enough to return to their established environment, while adoption and rescue can continue to be prioritised for cats that are suitable for rehoming.

Why Return Cats If Life Outdoors Is Difficult?

Returning a cat after surgery can seem counterintuitive, particularly when its outdoor environment is not ideal.

However, the decision should consider the individual cat and the available alternatives.

A healthy adult cat that is established in a familiar territory may be better off remaining there than being removed without a suitable long-term placement.

Sterilisation also changes the dynamics of the population.

Sterilised females no longer experience pregnancy or give birth to additional litters. Sterilised males generally have less reproductive drive and may show reduced roaming and mating-related fighting. Preventing repeated pregnancies can also reduce the physical demands placed on female cats.

Over time, sterilisation can help create smaller and more stable colonies, particularly when a high proportion of the population is sterilised.

The goal is not simply to reduce the number of cats. It is to reduce preventable suffering and improve the welfare of the cats that remain.

One Sterilisation Can Prevent Many Future Births

An unsterilised female cat can become pregnant at a relatively young age and may produce multiple litters during her reproductive life.

Not every kitten born outdoors will survive to adulthood. Young cats can be vulnerable to infectious disease, parasites, inadequate nutrition, dehydration, accidents, extreme weather and other hazards.

Sterilisation prevents those pregnancies from occurring.

That makes it a preventative form of animal welfare: rather than trying to find resources for an ever growing number of kittens after they are born, it reduces the number of kittens who are born into circumstances where adequate care may not be available.

Frequently Asked Questions