ADOPTING A KITTEN
Who hasn’t fallen in love with a kitten and said, “I wish I could and take you home”. This summer, four lucky kittens found new homes with very special friends.
When we are able, HydraArk would like to help make this process a little easier. We would like to share the following information regarding the procedures that must be followed to prepare a kitten for travel.
1. First you need to find out where the kitten lives. If the kitten lives outside you need to know the hours he is fed, in order to be sure to find it before you leave the island of Hydra. If the kitten can be in a protected room just one day before departure, things are even better.
2. You will need to take the kitten to a vet to prepare it for travel. This means: microchip, vaccine against rabies, vaccine against common cat viruses, anti parasite spot-on for fleas, and anti parasite pill for worms, and check-up. The vet must also prepare the pet-passport with the micron chip label, the vaccines' proof labels and stamps about anti-parasites and vet-control.
3. You will need to buy a pet travel bag for the kitten to feel safe and comfortable. You can use it together with a diaper and an old towel (or newspapers) just to be sure in case of a "toilet accident". The towel or diaper can be easily removed if necessary during the trip.
4. You will need to check with the flying dolphin company to make certain it is ok to take the pet with you. You also need to arrange ahead of time your transport in Athens (pets with pet-carriers are usually accepted in the bus for the airport, in the metro and in the taxis —it depends on the taxi driver, as some drivers want to put them in the back with the luggage...).
5. If you plan to stay in a hotel in Hydra or Athens you will need to call ahead and make certain they accept pets.
6. It is necessary to telephone the airline and make an extra pet-reservation on your flight and make sure that there is space in the aircraft to take it with you. Most European airlines accept one pet in the aircraft cabin and have special space in the aircraft hold with oxygen and correct temperature for pets. The reservation for the pet can be made either in cabin or in the hold according to the availability. There is an extra cost that varies for each airline starting from 50 euro per pet. Many low-cost airlines (like Easy Jet) do not allow pets at all in their aircrafts due to lack of appropriate conditions.
We will be happy to provide you info for a pet taxi and a vet in Athens (if you have at least one working day before your flight).
We are always thankful for helping Hydra's kittens and cats in any way you can, as your support help us to save more strays' lifes and to control their population!
Have you seen cats looking like this ?
As you walk around the island you will see cats that have their ear clipped. This is an international sign that indicates these cats have been sterilized. Our neuter/spay programs are made possible by the generosity of visitors and donors to HydraArk here on the Island of Hydra.
These cats are sterilized to help control the cat population of the island and to keep existing cats free from disease and fighting.
Sterilizing does not harm the street cats in any way. On the contrary, sterilized cats live longer and healthier and will still hunt mice and rats so as to keep this island a better place free from vermin.
We do need your help! Please donate to HydraArk to keep our programs going. It’s important for the animals, and it’s very important for the Island of Hydra.
You can make a donation while you are on the Island at the Alpha Bank, at the Ferry Office, and at SpeakOut Boutique in the Port.
Thank you! Please visit us on FaceBook and at: www.hydraark.org.
It’s Almost Summer… it’s so close … we are so happy!
We are happy because all our special friends come back to Hydra and that means a handful of biscuits from a kind visitor —a bowl of water left in a cool spot.
We need so little to make our lives better. If you all will think of us on your way to the beach and bring just a little extra water, a few biscuits, we will be your friends for eve and ever.
Maybe while you are on the Island, you might think about putting a few coins in the donation boxes at Speak Out Boutique in the Port, the Alpha Bank, or the ferry office. This helps to pay for medicines and food for when you all leave in the Fall.
Something that is so very important to us.
Our favorite vet, Carol, came back for a visit in April. Carol and several wonderful volunteers caught those rowdy Tom boys of Kamini. She clipped their ears, and several other bits and pieces, and now they have to behave and to tow-the-line. Oh to be feral and sterile in Hydra.
This is a program that’s very important to us all. If you can help by making a donation, not matter how small, you will help to keep these programs going. This benefits all of us in Hydra.
Thank you, Carol, for giving us a better life.
Visit us on FaceBook, and read our stories on our website: www.hydraark.org. There is a donation box at the Alpha Bank, at SpeakOut Boutique in the Port, and at the Ferry Office. Please consider a donation. We would be so grateful.
Thank you very much.
Hydra’s Street Cat Program.
2013 The year of the “Motley Crew”
You have seen some beautiful cats on our FaceBook page —and then there are those that not quite so beautiful. Theseare the ones we call our “Motley Crew”. Many of these street cats need help. Medicine, vaccines, and most of all a trip to the vet —TNR! We haven’t told the cats yet!
February is World Spay month. This is a worldwide program that promotes the importance of reducing the catpopulation through spaying/neutering programs. HydraArk will be participating.
Along with the arrival of spring there will also be an abundance of new kittens. They are sweet and wonderful for a short time… then there is no food for them, the mothers abandon them, and the streets once again are filled with the sight of sad, sick little animals. It is heartrending to see these little kitties and know they have little chance of surviving.
Vets, Carol McBeth and Kleo will be on Hydra from February 24 through the 26th.
We will bring cats from the Gardens, the Football field, the Port, and especially around the Pirate Bar, Amalour Bar, and the Museum. Our volunteers are ready and so grateful to Carol and Kleo to have this opportunity to move forward with our programs for Hydra’s animals.
You have all been such wonderful friends to these kitties. Many of you have helped us with our winter feeding program and this has made a huge difference. As you walk in parts of Hydra you will see those cats that have been lucky and who get that little extra care and attention from our volunteers.
Then there is our “Motley Crew”. These are not as lucky. They fight for their food and shelter. We really want to make a difference for them in our programs.
Please help us make a difference in Hydra. A donation of 30 euros will help one little street cat have a better life. Please go to our website and send a donation through PayPal. We would be so grateful for your help with this important project.
We are all so grateful to
Madame Marchig and Les Ward of the
Marchig Trust for funding another very
successful cat-neutering session on our
island this December. We thankful, also,
to vets Carol Macbeth and Cleopatra for
the three days they spent with us.
This time
we collected cats from the harbor and a
few other areas, but we focused mostly
on a colony of 50 to 60 cats toward the
back of the Port. This colony was at the
tipping point for becoming diseased;
thus, preventing further growth was
critical. In all, we were able to neuter
79 cats, a fantastic success!!! We also
managed to catch the vast majority of
the female cats before their next
breeding cycle, which will help greatly
with keeping the population in this area
under control. Carol and Cleopatra also
provided consultations for 8 private
pets and for 1 donkey.
The word is really getting
around the island that we are working to
maintain both the population level and
the health of the island's cats, and
locals are very enthusiastic and
supportive. They are starting to bring
street cats from their neighborhoods to
us, which is a hugely positive
development that makes our job a lot
easier. We even had some teenagers
interested in becoming vets sit in on an
operation to give them a sense of the
reality of the job.
The
Marchig Trust’s gift of funding is
making it possible for us to improve the
welfare of Hydra's street cats. If we
can bring Carol and Cleopatra back to
the island for a neutering session every
three months in 2013, we will be able to
make an enormously positive difference
in the lives of these animals. And we've
developed a group of dedicated
volunteers who are eager to undertake
the challenge.
The
economy is difficult. Marchig receives
so many requests for help from all over
Europe. Hydra may not be able to count
on their continued generosity. We will
all do whatever we can to keep moving
forward with our work with Hydra’s
animals. If you can help us in the
endeavor we will be very grateful.
Please consider making a donation
through Paypal to HydraArk to continue
this important work with the animals.
We are
offering for sale our cards designed
especially by Michael Lawrence to
benefit the animals for Hydra.
These make wonderful holiday gifts as
well as for use throughout the year.
If you live in the US and Canada,
please be in contact with Felicity
Panas at hydraark@ymail.com
and she will mail these to you.
The cost for a packet of 12 cards and
envelopes is $12 (US).
It’s
December! It’s almost Christmas!
Life is very quiet here in Hydra. We
wrote to Santa and asked him to please
not forget us. We are so hoping he
will bring us some biscuits.
A bag of
food for a colony of cats is forty-four
euros (fifty-seven US dollars). This
will feed about twelve kitties for a
month. If you can help us, please
click the PayPal button above to make
your much appreciated donation.
Your gift will make such a
difference this winter in the lives of
Hydra's animals. On behalf of all our
cats, kittens and dogs, thank you so
very much.
We are so
very grateful to Elisa Geskou and Aris
Vlahakis of Animal Action (formerly
Greek Animal Welfare Fund, GAWF), for
the three days they spent with us in
Hydra in October. More than one hundred
donkeys, mules and horses were brought
to the vets to have teeth inspected,
hooves checked and concerns addressed.
This year was a tremendous success and
those who attended expressed their
sincere thanks and gratitude to Elisa
and Aris. When you consider these
sessions have only taken place during
the last three years and that on the
first visit twenty animals were treated,
you will understand how important and
successful this program has become for
Hydra. Please click
here and scroll down on the page
to read the full report of their work
during this visit. http://www.gawf.org.uk/index.php?page=seminars
