Sandy’s Cat Sanctuary Alethriko

Located a few miles out of Larnaca, on the outskirts of a village called Alethriko, there is a new Cat Sanctuary, named Sandy’s Cat Sanctuary, after a beloved Feline. There is a big problem with stray Cats in Cyprus and many of them are abused, poisoned, shot, run over or they just suffer full stop.

On the edge of Larnaca, near the airport, there is an abandoned restaurant next to Tekke Mosque, which seems to have become a dumping ground for Cats. Elias, featured in the video, has been visiting the Cats there for a long time and feeding them, but recently, there were a large number kicked to death and at that point, they decided to take as many as possible to the shelter, even though they were not really ready to operate at that point.

Animal lover Susan Antoniou (London) has always been an animal lover and it was her dream to do something about it, then finally last year, she was able to realise her dream, but being the main sponsor of the new sanctuary, which is a few acres of land in a peaceful location, not far from Alethriko.  At present, it is little more than several shipping containers joined together, with separate areas inside, for Kittens, Cats with FIV and so on.

The entire area is fenced off, but sadly, they got flooded in November, due to torrential rain, which will cost a lot of money to repair. There are obviously large monthly overheads, feeding the Cats, medication etc. This will only increase along with the number of Cats. The shelter is currently being run by Elias and a couple of friends, who devote nearly all their time for free, but it is too much for them alone.

In the first instance, they need donations to help with running costs, as well as improvements and additional facilities. Also, they are looking for a generous benefactor or Timber shed manufacturer to donate a few small garden rooms that can be fitted out as sleeping areas for volunteers who may wish to fly over for a few weeks and have some hands on experience looking after the Cats, which is so rewarding.

We need a lot of help, as it is in short supply with everything

I was only there an hour or two and every time I sat down, I was inundated by the fluffy little darlings climbing all over me, it’s actually very dangerous as the risk of falling for one them is VERY HIGH!

If you would like to support this wonderful cause, please feel free to contact them directly via their website below, or donate directly with Paypal or even contact them with a view to flying over and spending some time helping out. There is no space on-site yet, but they will invariably find someone to put you up while you are over……so if you fancy spending a few weeks in sunny Cyprus, saving the lives of these gorgeous innocent creatures, please get in touch.

I’ve seen cats eating bread, chicken bones, fish bones that get stuck in their throats, then die in pain, or cats which are poisoned, drowned, shot, or kicked to death.

Should you wish to sponsor the sanctuary arrange day visits for Cat lovers, enquire about adopting or anything else, please feel free to get in touch. This really is a wonderful cause and it was a privilege to visit this place, I will be returning on my next trip.

A few words from Susan…………

“I started the sanctuary to save all the stray cats because the majority of Cypriots show no mercy and consider them vermin. i would not go to cyprus as i could not bear to see those skinny, sick cats that nobody was interested in, worse still starving to death, searching through bins to find what they could to survive. I’ve seen cats eating bread, chicken bones, fish bones that get stuck in their throats, then die in pain, or cats which are poisoned, drowned, shot, or kicked to death.

The government is not interested in the cats, the same thing applies to dogs. i wanted to give them a home. lots of kittens are taken from their mums too early and abandoned at Tekke, which is a popular place for dumping cats and kittens. i wanted to give them a future, to live longer than just a few months, so i decided that rather than walk away, i would do something to save as many as possible, so i bought 5 acres of land to house all the strays.

I have friends that have done a lot of running around and i cannot thank them enough for the hard work they do every day to save the lives of so many strays. the plan is to rescue, help and neuter stray cats then hopefully find new homes for them. at the shelter they will have access to good food, safety and not be at risk of starving.

We need a lot of help, as it is in short supply with everything including food. i can only do so much , what i would really like is to have all the cats in Cyprus to have a good and safe life.”

SUSAN – CO-FOUNDER OF THE SANCTUARY