A.S.A.P. Alonnisos Society for Animal Protection.

General items. As this is the first of these monthly diaries, it contains a lot more information than will normally be written for future editions. This is to give a little more background detail on locations and other areas. January has been a hard month weatherwise for the ferel animals on Alonissos and thoughout Greece. We have seen large variations in temperature, 0 to 15 dec C, varying amounts of snow and very high winds from the warm south to the very cold north, and we still have Febuary and March to go before the weather starts to warm. It is these months when the animals are at the most risk. Vetenary matters. Below is a diary of Julia's call outs and visits to treat injured animals - Monday 9th Jan: second vaccination given to 2 puppies. Tuesday 10th Jan: second vaccination given to another puppy, 1 male cat neutered. Wednesday 11th Jan: home visit to see a cat with a possible leg dislocation. Thursday 11th Jan: home visit to see a dog with ear problems. This animal had previously had a grass seed removed from its ear and it was still holding its head to one side seemed to have balance problems. A course of antibiotics was started. Friday 12th Jan: a repeat visit to see the dog with the ear and a yearly vaccination for a cat. Saturday 13th Jan: I had been asked to help the local doctor by anaesthetising a cat so he could look into its ear - I arrived at the health centre at 9am as arranged but there was no-one home! Monday 16th Jan: a busy day! I first saw a cat which was dribbling rather badly and unable to groom itself. A brief inspection (the cat not really wanting to have its mouth prised open) and several scratches later showed that the animal had an infection in its mouth or throat. A course of antibiotics was started. Following a repeat visit to the dog with the ear (steroids prescribed to be taken in conjunction with the ongoing antibiotics) and a visit to the 5-a-side football pitch to trim a dog’s claws, there was a male cat to be neutered. While in town, a pet dog was hit by a car – the leg seemed to be dislocated at the hip and many phone calls later the owners agreed to take it to a vet for X-rays. Tuesday 17th Jan: visit to see the dog with the ear. Wednesday 18th Jan: another antibiotic injection for the cat with the mouth – already a marked improvement! Thursday 19th Jan: visit to see the dog with the ear – not much change unfortunately. Friday 20th Jan: yet more antibiotics for the cat with the bad mouth – much better and he even let me stroke him without getting my hands shredded. Saturday 21st Jan: male cat castration. Sunday 22nd Jan: primary vaccinations for 2 puppies – only 3 months old and already the size of a moderate garden shed! Monday 23th Jan: back to the cat with the bad mouth. This time it was anaesthetised so I could clean its teeth and get the many knots out of its coat. The infection had cleared up but its gums were very inflamed and bled easily – a long acting steroid was given for the inflammation. Tuesday 24th Jan: another visit to see the dog with the bad ear – a little better, tablets to be continued and a visit to treat a cat with ear mites. Wednesday 25th Jan: while shopping someone ran up to say that there was a very sick cat near their house. A rather large fence had to be climbed over in order to get to the cat and it wasn’t best pleased! The cat had a bad wound on its back and was dragging its back legs. There appeared to be some sensation in the back legs so antibiotics were given, more in hope than expectation. Friday 27th Jan: a repeat injection for the cat with the back wound – still not very happy, but a little less frightened and with a bit more sensation. It was actually putting some weight on its legs. Saturday 28th Jan: visit to see a cat that the owner had told me could not walk without falling over. It had recovered somewhat and a physical examination pointed to a kick or a fall that had bruised the bottom of its spine. We let nature take its course and the cat is now fine. Sunday 29th Jan: another visit to the cat – the wound had healed amazingly and it was moving quite well. The latest news is that it has made an incredible recovery! Tuesday 31st Jan: another home visit to see a poorly cat – not eating and under the weather. Antibiotics were given. ASAP has a "Friends of the Cat" vet visiting the island around the 15th March 2012 for 2 or 3 days. Firm dates and times will be published once confirmed. Feeding progamme. Feeding programme (Mike) – After returning from our UK visit in early January, it was back to feeding the cats on Alonissos again. We have 8 feeding stations spread over the island, normally positioned where the cats naturally congregate. I look after 4 of these, the houses located up the North end of the island, so there is a bit of driving involved. The numbers of cats vary from station to station and from month to month. Each station consists of a large plastic dog kennel with a large dry food dispenser within, plus water dispensers or bowls outside. Most of the stations also have bedding in i.e. old blankets or towels, whatever we have, so the cats can sleep when conditions are foul. The feeders are of our own design, consisting of a large paint tray, onto which is bolted a plastic olive container with a screw top. These hold just under 10 kilos of dry biscuits and can last between 1 and 2 weeks, depending on cat numbers. This reduces feeding trips to one per week during the winter months. My stations are listed below – Bambakeis – The most Northerly station, it is positioned at the back of the local boatyard in some rough ground. There are normally between 5 and 8 cats here who, during the holiday season, are fed by guests in the nearby villas. On the last visit, 3 cats showed up and the feeder was about 60% full. Lefto bins – The lefto house is set in a hollow, amongst trees and bushes, just down from the 3 waste bins at the junction of Lefto Yiallo, Georgi Yiallo and Kokkinkastro beach roads. This is the largest colony of cats on my patch, with up to 20 cats maximum. This trip there was just 9, the feeder was empty as usual, so they were very pleased to see me. The cats are primarily attracted by the possible food from the bins and come from the tavernas and villas that close for the winter. Melia – Positioned on the Melia beach turn-off, the station is positioned in the trees above the waste bins. Normally around 6 cats here, but only 3 showed this visit. The feeder was 75% full. Votsi bins – Just on the outskirts of the Fishing village and port of Votsi, the station is by the road, opposite the electricity offices. Normally we have 5 to 6 cats here and a lot of chickens, who also like eating dry cat food. To try and keep them out, I have hung CD’s over the entrance. This works to a degree. Only one cat showed and the feeder we 80% full. The last place I feed is not a proper feeding station, but is at Votsi port. There is a community of around 9 cats, mostly related by their colouring (mostly white with ginger markings), and are fed by a number of the local fishermen, so they have fresh fish on their diet. This is fairly infrequent though, so I keep a small 2 kilo dry food feeder there to keep them going. I am at the port fairly frequently as my yacht is moored in the harbour. Consequently, when I arrive in the car, towing my inflatable on a trailer, there are usually 9 cats running down the road after me, knowing they are going to get some dry food, or a can of wet if they are really lucky. Feeding programme (Julia) - Kitty City: this station is situated at Vouno and came about 5 years ago when 4 kittens were presented to me. Having many cats (and dogs and a horse) at home I had been banned from bringing home any more animals. In desperation I deposited the kittens in a safe location at the end of my road, knowing that I would be driving past several times a day and could feed the kittens well. From those 4 kittens (2 of whom are still there) kitty city has grown into a metropolis. There are several shelters, all with warm bedding, and the animals are fed at least twice per day. The original number has grown to, currently, 28 cats. There have been more – the station is well known and there are often miraculous deposits of new kittens when I’m not looking! Unfortunately, with such a large colony, infections such as feline enteritis and feline rhinotracheitis spread rapidly. As many of the kittens left there have been taken from their mothers far too early they have little natural immunity. Profitis Ilias: this little church is situated just off the main road from Patitiri to the Old Village. We have 2 shelters there, hidden away under the olive trees. There is a core collection of 10 cats. Cinema Bins: there are 10-12 cats here at any one time. In addition to these feeding stations, 3 households along the same route have asked ASAP to feed cats during the winter months. A further visit is made every Wednesday to Milia Bay to feed cats at a house near the beach. Feeding programme (Dinah) - Dinah takes care of the Patitiri area especially the port where we have a feeding station under the cliffs. There are normally around 15 to 20 cats in the port area. Fundraising. The last fund raising event was the December 2011 Evening Quiz, dinner and music to round off. The event was held at Panouli's taverna in Votsi and was well attended by 46 supporters. Numerous teams competed and a fun time was had by all. Food was supplied within the price of €10 per head and the evening finished with music by the Bare Foot Blues duo of Chester Smith and Chris Browne. A raffle was run with many prizes going to the lucky winners, a total in excess of €200 was raised for the charity. A big thank you to all involved. The licence for the stall will be applied for via Skopelos towards the end of this month. Dinah is currently in the process of locating and purchasing new items to re-stock the ASAP stall ready for the coming season.