The Cats of Athens

Athens has lots of cats. Indeed, so does the whole of Greece, but the city cats of Athens have a personality all to themselves. Famously, the only animal to domesticate themselves, there is a mutual respect between the people of Athens and their γάτες. There was a time when they were not welcome in the country, before the adoption of Christianity in around 49AD, when a story about how a cat kept the baby Jesus warm aptly warmed the Greek people to them.

Almost all cats you’ll find in Greece are strays and in Athens they tend to survive due to the kindness of tourists as well as some locals. There has been some debate about how best to control their numbers; there are also dedicated charities, like the Greek Cat Welfare Society who, since 1992, have sought to look after them and over time help reduce the cat population in a humane way.

Cats are part of the charm of the city - there is even a “Cats of Athens Tour” that plays with fable, folklore and facts to treat you to a quirky history of Αθήνα through the eyes of its feline residents.

When I visited the city, I loved walking around such a beautiful place and seeing a ginger cat snoozing in the shade as hordes of tourists passed by. There’s a family of black cats that live in the ruins of Hadrian's Library and a bonus few roaming around the entrance to Temple of Aphaia on Aegina.