More than 1 million stray cats live in the island nation of Cyprus.

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NCSS: People, Places, and Environments

Common Core: R.2

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Hello, Kitties!

The island nation of Cyprus is up to its whiskers in stray cats. What should be done?

Jim McMahon/Mapman®

Sunbathing in parks. Padding down crowded streets. Begging for scraps at outdoor restaurants. Feral felines are running wild across the Republic of Cyprus, an island nation in the Mediterranean Sea. According to recent government estimates, there is at least one stray cat for each of the country’s 1 million people—more than ever before.

Cats have a long history in Cyprus. Legend has it that a saint brought felines to the island around 326 A.D. to help control snake infestations. Cypriots have shared their space with cats ever since.

Today the nation draws cat-adoring tourists from all over the world. But the animals’ growing population has many experts concerned.

Ian Rutherford/Alamy Stock Photo

Cats beg for food at an outdoor restaurant in Mandria, Cyprus. Locals and tourists frequently give food and water to the stray cats.

Although tourists and residents alike feed the strays, some of the wild cats struggle to find food and shelter. The animals can also be hit or killed by cars on busy streets. In addition, the predators pose a danger to the island’s ecosystem, including native bird populations, scientists say.

Local officials are considering ways to bring Cyprus’s population of wild cats under control. The government recently increased funding for a program that prevents the cats from breeding. But tracking and catching the cats can be difficult. And while there are a number of cat shelters in Cyprus designed to get the stray felines off the streets, animal groups say there should be more.

Tourists hoping for a cat-filled vacation don’t have to worry, however. Officials say these solutions will only scratch the surface of the problem at first. The cats in Cyprus are here to stay—at least for now.

—Brooke Ross

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