New to site and need advice.
My husband and I are living on the island of Crete, Greece, on work assignment. Husband's work assignment is up in a month, and we head back to the USA then. The movers will come to pack up our things beginning of June, so my kitty is running out of time.
Here's the problem. While here, we found a starving and feral kitten and took him in. The entire island here is like one big feral cat colony, and all the shelters are - by Greek law - trap/neuter/release. We have seen such sick and suffering cats here that our hearts break daily. There are some places that will put out food for strays here, but this is an island that really doesn't like cats overall.
As for our kitty, he is indoor/outdoor (started out as feral, so this is progress!). We were able to get him neutered, but now he knows what a kennel is and won't get near it, even with coaxing of treats or toys. From this experience, we learned that the vet care here is really not the best. He bled on his bottom area on and off for about three weeks after he was neutered. Now that has healed, but he has been vomiting daily for almost every day for the past few months. We have visited several vets in our area (not a lot of good ones to choose from), and they all say he has hairballs and to just deal with it, even though he is losing lots of weight. I feel his ribs again, like he was when we first got him and he was nearly emaciated. He is very sick at this point. When we had him neutered, we had him tested at that time for AIDS/leukemia, and both tests were negative. We don't know why he is sick, and the vets really don't care to seem to find out.
He is sick enough that he probably won't make the flight back to the states, not to mention two weeks of boarding (if we can even find a place to board him, this could prove to be difficult at best). He is afraid of people (besides me and my husband). I have seen people here hit, kick, and throw things at animals who beg for food around the restaurants, so I'm not surprised. Because of his fear, he would try to escape were someone else responsible for cleaning his cage, feeding, and watering him (in a boarding situation or extended shipping situation).
Even if he could make the trip, the airlines don't want to ship pets in cargo where the temperature will be over 85 degrees Fahrenheit for safety reasons, and we will be relocated to the Arkansas area (hot, hot summers!). Also, because of kennel regulations that mandate the size of the kennel needed for a cat of his size, we would have to get another $3000-$4000 plane ticket to bring him in the cabin as a carry-on because his kennel won't fit underneath the seat in front of us. Another pet shipping company out of Athens offered to ship him to Dallas or St. Louis for $4000. We don't have that kind of $$$ because I quit my job to come here, and who would pick him up in another state when we aren't even in the country yet ourselves?.
Some of the people at my husband's workplace said to just leave him here when we go back to the states, but I'm seriously against abandonment. There is a large tom in the area that has beaten our little guy up on numerous occasions. Also, there is no food, natural or otherwise. Cats here live at the garbage dump because that is the only place they can find food. And there are two feral female cats who each just had another litter of kittens, so whatever food goes in the garbage dump will not feed another 8-10 cats. Our kitty will either get killed or seriously wounded in a cat fight, hit by a car, fed rat poison by someone, or die of disease or starvation, etc. I don't want that for my baby!
We even have asked several vets to euthanize him at this point, and we have met with the same answer each time, that vets here do not do this except in the case of extreme situations. To me, this is an extreme situation. He is terrified of other humans, no one wants a pet cat (cats are everywhere here and no one wants any of them), he is scared of his pet taxi, he is sick and losing weight, vet care is substandard, he will not make the trip back to the states, and all the shelters and cat rescue groups we have called across the island have said that their hands are full with the cats they already have or they don't work with cats in our region and for us to call a local group instead (which we have already done with no luck).
What to do??? Because he is sick and the situation is essentially hopeless, someone back home mentioned do-it-yourself euthanasia. One friend said a gunshot would "do the trick," but I don't think I could ever do that, and we aren't allowed to have guns here anyways because we are not citizens. Is there a way to humanely euthanize a cat with no suffering? Sorry this is so long and so "doom and gloom". I'm just so frustrated. My hands are tied at this point, and I'd appreciate any help or ideas. I love this little guy and he deserves some dignity and respect, even if it is to go peacefully with me rather than to die out there alone from injury, disease, or poisoning.
My husband and I are living on the island of Crete, Greece, on work assignment. Husband's work assignment is up in a month, and we head back to the USA then. The movers will come to pack up our things beginning of June, so my kitty is running out of time.
Here's the problem. While here, we found a starving and feral kitten and took him in. The entire island here is like one big feral cat colony, and all the shelters are - by Greek law - trap/neuter/release. We have seen such sick and suffering cats here that our hearts break daily. There are some places that will put out food for strays here, but this is an island that really doesn't like cats overall.
As for our kitty, he is indoor/outdoor (started out as feral, so this is progress!). We were able to get him neutered, but now he knows what a kennel is and won't get near it, even with coaxing of treats or toys. From this experience, we learned that the vet care here is really not the best. He bled on his bottom area on and off for about three weeks after he was neutered. Now that has healed, but he has been vomiting daily for almost every day for the past few months. We have visited several vets in our area (not a lot of good ones to choose from), and they all say he has hairballs and to just deal with it, even though he is losing lots of weight. I feel his ribs again, like he was when we first got him and he was nearly emaciated. He is very sick at this point. When we had him neutered, we had him tested at that time for AIDS/leukemia, and both tests were negative. We don't know why he is sick, and the vets really don't care to seem to find out.
He is sick enough that he probably won't make the flight back to the states, not to mention two weeks of boarding (if we can even find a place to board him, this could prove to be difficult at best). He is afraid of people (besides me and my husband). I have seen people here hit, kick, and throw things at animals who beg for food around the restaurants, so I'm not surprised. Because of his fear, he would try to escape were someone else responsible for cleaning his cage, feeding, and watering him (in a boarding situation or extended shipping situation).
Even if he could make the trip, the airlines don't want to ship pets in cargo where the temperature will be over 85 degrees Fahrenheit for safety reasons, and we will be relocated to the Arkansas area (hot, hot summers!). Also, because of kennel regulations that mandate the size of the kennel needed for a cat of his size, we would have to get another $3000-$4000 plane ticket to bring him in the cabin as a carry-on because his kennel won't fit underneath the seat in front of us. Another pet shipping company out of Athens offered to ship him to Dallas or St. Louis for $4000. We don't have that kind of $$$ because I quit my job to come here, and who would pick him up in another state when we aren't even in the country yet ourselves?.
Some of the people at my husband's workplace said to just leave him here when we go back to the states, but I'm seriously against abandonment. There is a large tom in the area that has beaten our little guy up on numerous occasions. Also, there is no food, natural or otherwise. Cats here live at the garbage dump because that is the only place they can find food. And there are two feral female cats who each just had another litter of kittens, so whatever food goes in the garbage dump will not feed another 8-10 cats. Our kitty will either get killed or seriously wounded in a cat fight, hit by a car, fed rat poison by someone, or die of disease or starvation, etc. I don't want that for my baby!
We even have asked several vets to euthanize him at this point, and we have met with the same answer each time, that vets here do not do this except in the case of extreme situations. To me, this is an extreme situation. He is terrified of other humans, no one wants a pet cat (cats are everywhere here and no one wants any of them), he is scared of his pet taxi, he is sick and losing weight, vet care is substandard, he will not make the trip back to the states, and all the shelters and cat rescue groups we have called across the island have said that their hands are full with the cats they already have or they don't work with cats in our region and for us to call a local group instead (which we have already done with no luck).
What to do??? Because he is sick and the situation is essentially hopeless, someone back home mentioned do-it-yourself euthanasia. One friend said a gunshot would "do the trick," but I don't think I could ever do that, and we aren't allowed to have guns here anyways because we are not citizens. Is there a way to humanely euthanize a cat with no suffering? Sorry this is so long and so "doom and gloom". I'm just so frustrated. My hands are tied at this point, and I'd appreciate any help or ideas. I love this little guy and he deserves some dignity and respect, even if it is to go peacefully with me rather than to die out there alone from injury, disease, or poisoning.
I will have to go through my phone and upload a picture. Thank you again!
I do hope and pray that some door opens and there is a way to save your kitty. You and your husband are very dear and kind people and thank you for taking this little one in. I wish you all the best in your search and in your decisions. No matter what, you are doing what you have to do our of love for this kitty.
