Fouskos

On October 6, 2024, Fouskos, a one month-old kitten, arrived at our center. His mother ahd abandoned him and he was crying non-stop for 2 days. A kindhearted woman felt sorry for him and took him in but she had to leave Amorgos so she asked for our help. And that's how Fouskos ended up in our hands.

We began him on intensive care with regular feedings, a heating pad, antibiotics and eye drops for the respiratory and eye infection he was suffering from and soon little Fouskos recovered, gained weight and started to play.

Since then Fouskos is being fostered at our Center but life in a warm home is always better than the life at the shelters or on the streets, and as a friendly kitty, we hope a loving family will come forward and give him the happy life he deserves. How about yours?

Here is a small video of him the first day he came in our care, looking quite scruffy: https://youtube.com/shorts/-wVz1HDipOU?feature=share

Little Taz is adopted!

Taz came to our Center in 17 September 2024 after being rescued from the streets. He was only one-month-old and he was dehydrated, malnourished, with terrible diarrhea and a wound in his back from his siblings as he was the weakest.

We never like to separate kittens from their siblings but unfortunately the stronger kittens were playing hard with him and poor Taz who was sick was suffering to such a degree that we feared for his survival.

Now little Taz is not so little anymore and he has so much energy that his mum calls him Taz (from the Tasmanian devil in cartoons). And yes you understood well…Taz has been adopted from an amazing family who adore him.

Here is a small video of him in our care, two weeks after his arrival:

https://youtube.com/shorts/SOpoY-3M2Eo?feature=share

Achilleas has been adopted!

It's time to say goodbye with bittersweet feelings..

Achilleas came into our hands on May 17th, 2024 when he was only 1 day old. See his story here: https://www.animal-zone.org/news/2024/6/4/strong-little-achileas 

His chance of survival were very slim, but little Achilles proved to be a fighter and he made it! He started eating on his own, he started running and playing and when he was old enough, and soon it was time to amputate his leg amputation—to take care of the permanently open wound that prevented him the chance to live a normal life. 

Jarkko Mehtälä was the man who found him initially, while on vacation in Amorgos, and it was he who brought him to us. He said then that if Achilleas lived he would come back in the fall to get him and they both kept their promise. One lived and the other came all the way from Finland to Amorgos and back to make him part of his family. And today Achilleas left the island where he was born and traveled to a new life in distant Finland where a warm home and two more cats await him.

And what can we say now about this man who crossed Europe, with all that entails, to offer a home to a cat from Amorgos. Thank you seems too small. Achillea and Jarkko Mehtälä, we wish you a very beautiful and long life together! Have a nice trip!

You can follow Achilleas on his own Instagram page!

Stavros

Stavros — The Sweet Survivor

We named him Stavros because he came from the area of ​​Stavros. On the day that the mountain of Aegiali was burning, he, unknown how, was found burnt on the road to Arkesini, many kilometers further. 

When he arrived, he was in terrible shape and had sustained many severe burns. His ears and face were burned, and his nose was damaged to such an extent that he could only breathe through his mouth. His legs were also burned and full of maggots. He also had worms in his eyes. 

He was in extreme pain and yet when we were taking care of him he was asking for caresses. Every day that passes he is taking a step for the better. We are rooting for him to make a full recovery!

Here is a short video of him receiving treatment when he came: https://youtube.com/shorts/dC9XRYG0OUM?si=48NpUS9hvh17Wypu

Help us help Stavros—please donate now or even better, virtually adopt Stavros, and be a friend on his road to recovery.

Tomi

Tomi was found on the street almost unconscious. His rescuers called and told us, “We found a kitten that is probably dying.” When he arrived, he was completely dehydrated, with hypothermia and possible internal bleeding. The chances of survival were slim but he proved strong. 

The next day he was eating by syringe but with great appetite and a day later he was able to eat by himself and had his eyes wide open. Ten days after his arrival, he has now blossomed into playful kitten full of joy.

It’s unbelievable, but it appears he has made a full recovery! Who will adopt this little fighter?

Strong Little Achileas

Achileas and his sister were found in the area of the Castle of Chora on Amorgos both in bad shape. For Achileas, his umbilical cord was wrapped tightly around his leg, restricting blood flow and causing major damage to his limb. His sister had a terrible wound on her front leg, down to the bone, and sadly she did not survive. 

However we are very hopeful that little Achileas will make it—he is clearly a fighter. He is now 13 days old and thriving. Unfortunately at this time there is not much we can do about his damaged leg—he’s far too young for surgery now—but this does not seem to bother him at all. He is very resilient and active and eats with a great appetite and we hope he will continue to get stronger each day!

We are optimistic that we can nurse him back to health but we can’t do it alone. Please help and make a donation now.

Here are 3 short videos: 

1. When he came to our Center: https://youtube.com/shorts/XnbxBd2_4b0?feature=share

2. At 13 days old: https://youtube.com/shorts/pCoWozPCeV0?feature=share

3. Achileas eating from his bottle: https://youtube.com/shorts/0YGETlQPAGQ?feature=share

Five kittens

Not one, not two, not three but FIVE small kittens were abandoned inside a plastic bag in a remote area of Aegiali. A tourist during her hike from Tholaria to Langada, following the traditional path, heard their cries and asked for help. The poor babies were fortunate in their misfortune. The kittens were skin and bones, they were starving and they were full of fleas (see videos below).

Clearly we must continue our work of sterilization and educational campaigns in order to prevent this from occuring again. Won’t you join us in our cause??! We appreciate any assistance you can offer. Donate, or volunteer and foster if you are nearby. AZI and the kittens thank you!

https://youtube.com/shorts/RMM0dVwak2s?feature=share

https://youtube.com/shorts/3ozTBwILcrA?feature=share

Lacta's brothers

The day after Lacta was found next to her mother who had been killed by car, and who came to us thanks to the teachers of Aegiali’s primary school, two more kittens were found crying near to the area Lacta was found.

Obviously they are Lacta's brothers who started to cry and thankfully people noticed them. The two little ones are both boys and are thriving! Let us introduce you Batman and Robin!

Lacta, a sweet newborn

Lacta, a very young kitten, arrived recently. She’s a sweetie different from the others.💕 Sadly she is an orphan as her mother was found dead. Thanks to the teachers of the primary school of Aegiali she has come to us safe and sound.

Here is a small video from her arrival into a box for sweets: https://youtube.com/shorts/UhafrL3XRP4?feature=share

and one more of her first day in our care: https://youtube.com/shorts/ybnCq7RvtOY?feature=share

Here at AZI’s Center she will be treated to the best care we can offer! If you’d like to help please consider a virtual adoption or a donation. More info can be found here.

Rescue of a Eurasian sparrowhawk

January 2024—Early in January, we were informed by the local veterinarian Dr. Dimitrios Simos about an injured bird in a field in Chora. Dr. Simos brought the bird to our Center where it received first aid. The next day it was sent to the Alkyoni – Aegean Wildlife Hospital in Paros.

The bird is a Eurasian sparrowhawk, Accipiter nisus (for more info visit https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eurasian_sparrowhawk). Its injury was one of the worst fractures we have seen on a bird's wing. Luckily the fracture is in a ‘good spot’ and luckily our partners at Alkyoni have a lot of experience and do an exceptional job, so we hope that it will be free to fly the skies. However if that isn’t possible, he will remain with other disabled birds at Alkyoni's facilities in Paros. 

Alkyoni – Aegean Wildlife Hospital is doing amazing work for wild birds in Greece and we thank them very much for that. If you want to learn more and would like to consider supporting them, visit https://alkioni.org/

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Help for Billy

Billy is just a 6 month old kitten but his life has already been full of difficulties and hardships. Billy got trapped in the engine of a car and somehow he was lucky enough not to get minced. But he did sustain a bad wound in his tail and a very bad fracture on his right hind leg which requires orthopedic surgery or amputation. On top of that, he is suffering from a very bad infection of fungus causing him to lose entire tufts of his fur.

Yet despite this, his sweet personality came through. He is a very tender and sweet creature. For us, there is no question. When a leg could be saved with surgery, amputation was not even an option. So we contacted an orthopedic surgeon vet in Athens and scheduled Billy's surgery for the morning of January 19.

But we will your help to pay for this procedure. The cost of the surgery itself is 600 euro plus 24% VAT, so 744,00 euro in total. Billy needs also to take a syrup against fungus which costs 56,00 euro, so the minimum we need to collect is 800,00 euro.

He is eating well and gaining weight and he is also incredibly cuddly and sweet so after all he will need a home. And of course he will need all your positive energy and thoughts because Billy is an underweight, unvaccinated, full of fungus stray kitten and the risk during anesthesia is big.

Every little bit helps ... If you’d like to help, please consider supporting our efforts with a donation. We appreciate your help, no matter how small: https://tinyurl.com/Donate-AZI

Sweet Zoe needs a home!

In June 2023, one and a half- month-old Zoe came to us suffering from an eye infection and respiratory disease. We began an intensive treatment that cured the respiratory problems but she had already lost her right eye and the infection to the left eye threatened to leave impaired vision. This would have been disastrous for her as she was already blind in one eye and was in danger of becoming completely blind. Thank goodness after long-term treatment we managed to save the left eye!!

Since then Zoe is fostered in our Center as when she completed her treatment was too young to return back to the streets, and then winter came! She is 8 month old , is spayed and vaccinated. In spring, when the weather turns warm again we will return sweet Zoe to her neighborhood…unless someone is willing to adopt her. Life in a warm home is always better than the life on the streets, and as a friendly kitty, we hope a loving family will come forward and give her the happy life he deserves. How about yours?

An August kitten

A tiny creature came recently into our hands. He was found crying alone for several hours on the path to Kastri. He is growing in the experienced hands of Angeliki and once he gets a little older he will be available for adoption. Stay tuned!

Marios' broken jaw

His name is Marios for a very good reason! Marios got hit by a car and he is still alive thanks to the sensitivity and persistence of a woman from the neighborhood where he lived. Marios comes from Xylokeratidi, an otherwise safe area for cats.

Being hit by a car has cost him a badly broken jaw, but the dangerous thing was that after the accident he was so scared, that he was hiding from people so that he could not be caught to get help from the vet. Due to the fracture, he was not able to eat.

Angela made a lot of effort to find and catch him for many days without a result. When a week had passed since the accident, she decided that on that day he must be caught or otherwise he would not survive. So she asked for help, which was given to her!

The local vet Dimitris went on the spot where the cat had been hiding from the previous day and as soon as the cat felt safe, he went straight to him. The next day, Marios traveled to Naxos where he had surgery.

Marios is now back at our Center where he will remain for at least a month. He eats with appetite, he gained weight and he is more relaxed and happy!

Another soul was saved because a human being cared for him!

Thank you Angela!

Please, don't ignore an animal that looks like it's in trouble—ask for help. Every creature's life is precious.

Here are two short videos of him:

https://youtube.com/shorts/gRfUxCz5gww

https://youtube.com/shorts/vExzPOEK7zo?feature=share

Porthos is adopted!

In the summer of 2021, four tiny orphaned kittens came to our care: 3 boys and 1 girl, the Three Musketeers and princess Avgi. Not even one week old, with their eyes closed, they could fit in our palms.

Α "human" took them from their mom and threw them in the street like they were rubbish. It took us an entire month of intensive care (and loss of sleep!) until they began to eat on their own. Almost four months later two of them, Athos and Avgi, traveled to their new family in Holland. They had been adopted by the best family who had already adopted another Amorgian kitten, Siouti.

But Ute’s heart was left behind in Amorgos, with the third kitten, named Porthos who had stayed back. She tried to convince her husband Edouard to adopt him too. Porthos was an animal that really needed a home— life as a stray on the streets was not for him and Ute knew that. After nagging Edouard day and night about it she finally managed to convince him. So on her last trip to Amorgos in May she finally got the OK to bring Porthos back to their home in Holland and to reunite him with his brother and sister. The wandering life of an outdoor cat came to an end for Porthos and we were very happy about it.

Ute and Edouard thank you from the bottom of our hearts for once again opening your home and your hearts to creatures in need. Thank you for what you have offered us and the animals of Amorgos. Have a happy and great life together!

Here is a small video of Porthos at his new home!

Here you can find his story: https://www.animal-zone.org/news/2022/1/7/dhr4wweucx1u8k9u1qs2kymy5aluxa

And here the adoption story of his brother and sister: https://www.animal-zone.org/news/2021/11/8/athos-and-avgi-are-adopted-in-holland

Ruby is now a Dutch citizen

UPDATE JAN 2023— Ruby, now Vincent, has been adopted!

***

In July, we received a phone call concerning a kitten that got into a car engine and was almost turned into mincemeat. He was a tiny little creature, only 2 months old. The extent of the injuries was very severe and we were not at all certain that he would make it.

His suffering was immense and he had just started his life. But the little boy turned out to be a great fighter. He overcame everything and the only thing left to remind us of the accident is one missing ear and a crooked right leg. We called him Ruby and you can read his full story here:

https://www.animal-zone.org/news/2022/9/20/meet-ruby-our-special-kitten

Time passed and Ruby grew up but the long-awaited and hoped for adoption news did not come. (There was an almost chance, but it was canceled because the little one tested positive for Feline Infectious Peritonitis (FIP) 1/100).

So our one and only Ute Kohlmann, whom we really don't know how to thank anymore, decided to take him to the Netherlands so that he could have a better chance of finding a home there. Ute searched and found a girl, named Kim, who will host him (maybe eventually fall in love with him and adopt him, perhaps?) and during this time she will help us look for a permanent home for our sweet Ruby. We hope that the new year will bring him own home with a family to adore him.

We would like to thank Kyriaki, Julia and Polykarpos who supported Ruby during his hospitalization and accompanied him on his journey from Amorgos to Athens; Pepi and Daniel who once again opened up their home — they not only hosted him but also escorted him to the airport; Kim who opened up her home to host him in the Netherlands; and finally Ute: we have no words for her anymore...Thank you seems too little…

Here is a small video of Ruby in Athens where he stayed for about 10 days:

https://youtube.com/shorts/r8_T2-O7NP0?feature=share

As you can imagine, his medical treatment was costly—please help us help others like Ruby by making a donation here: https://tinyurl.com/Donate-AZI

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A Box of Kittens

Not one, not 2, but 3 kittens were abandoned inside a box and left in the parking lot of Tholaria. The kittens were there from morning till afternoon and no one cared until a good-hearted man took them with him.

But that man was in Amorgos only for a short period of time and eventually had to go back to his hometown, so he needed to find a place to leave the kittens. And soon he found out about us and asked for our help. Of course we couldn’t refuse and the kittens came to our Center.

They are 2 girls and 1 boy, only one month old, healthy and playful babies. In the period during which the kittens came to the Center, we were fighting against a virus which was causing severe diarrhea, so it was not at all the ideal place for the kittens to stay.

We made an appeal to find someone to foster the kittens in a healthier environment for them. Our dear friend Angeliki once again responded immediately to our appeal and took home the 3 kittens along with two more that had been found earlier that month. The boy has already been adopted by Angeliki and her family, but the two girls are still looking for a home.

Our work is never done—there are always new arrivals who need food, shelter, and medical care. Help us by making a donation here: https://tinyurl.com/Donate-AZI. The kittens will be forever grateful!

Two orphaned kittens are adopted

It was 3 pm on a day in the midst of our autumn sterilization program when the mobile of our program coordinator rang. Two tiny kittens had been crying since early morning while the mother was nowhere to be found.

The weather in Chora where they were was too cold and windy for them to stay alone any longer so we ran over to pick them up. The boy was huge for his age and in good condition but very hungry. The girl on the other hand was half the size of her brother, only skin and bones, with hypothermia and respiratory problems—a difficult case.

We were afraid that she wouldn't survive. We started intensive care with frequent small amounts of milk formula for kittens, vitamins, antibiotics, and heating agents and despite the odds not being on her side the little girl proved to be a fighter.

Two days later, the kittens were given to Angeliki who volunteered to foster them. That same day her family decided to adopt them so it was one of our fastest adoptions ever. In Angeliki's experienced hands the kittens got stronger, grew up, started eating on their own and have brought the house up and down with their energy. The little girl who was named Popi will soon travel to Athens where a new sister is waiting for her. Thank you so much Angeliki for all your support and efforts.

Foster homes are a great help both for us, as it opens up space for another animal in need, and for the animal itself, as it learns to live and behave in a home environment, so it is properly prepared when adopted. If you cannot adopt a cat, consider fostering a cat so you can be part of its life's journey.

Here are two short videos of them:

When they were found: https://youtube.com/shorts/q_ymmyNC_Jk?feature=share

When they started to eat by themselves: https://youtube.com/shorts/f98Vuw55088?feature=share

Rosa, a kitten who lost her eye

A young lady contacted us to ask our help for a kitten who lived in her neighborhood in the village of Kamari of Amorgos. It seemed the little cat's eye had developed a serious problem, apparently from some accident the animal must have had.

We advised her to bring the kitten to us as soon as possible so that we could send her to our vets in Naxos. The next day, the kitten who in the meantime we named Rosa, traveled to the nearby island of Naxos where our vets examined her.

Unfortunately, her left eye was completely destroyed and was causing her terrible pain, so the only solution was the surgical removal of the eye, which took place on that very same day. Two days later, Rosa was returned to our Center where she will remain for the next 2 weeks to complete her treatment.

Ideally, we would like to find a home for her instead of sending her back to the streets, but adoptions have not been easy this past year, so we don't have much hope. In case you want to adopt a kitten, Rosa is a very sweet, affectionate and playful little creature who is in a real need of a home. For now, we are asking for your help to cover the cost of the surgery.

Please help by donating here: https://tinyurl.com/Donate-AZI.

Thank you!

Here are two short videos of Rosa before and after the surgery:

Before the surgery: https://youtu.be/k8IThB-sF0I

And after the surgery: https://youtube.com/shorts/4UVrk69izbU?feature=share

Meet Roumi, our new rescued puppy

August 2022—Meet Roumi, a sweet young female puppy. Originally Roumi was adopted and brought to Amorgos but that owner was extremely neglectful, irresponsible and clearly unable to properly care for her. She was often alone on the streets, tied to signposts next to main roads all night, or left under the sun on the beach without any protection etc.

We received many calls from concerned citizens regarding for her well being, sometimes in the very early morning, about 4am or 5am. Finally she was taken in by a nice girl who refused to give her back to her owner, knowing how poorly he cared for Roumi.

She made a complaint to the police and asked us for help, which we gave with great pleasure by taking the puppy under our care. Now Roumi is with us and we are looking for a caring family who will treat her with the love and respect that she deserves.

Welcome Roumi!