“When l got to North Cyprus, l was seeing cats everywhere, and I thought my village people had followed me,” one of my friends jokingly said.
The population of cats to humans in Cyprus is astonishing. As of 2019, there were over 1.5 million cats compared to humans, which were 1.2 million. Given the rate at which cats give birth, it wouldn’t be surprising that they might be close to doubling their population by now. When we talk about stray cats, the picture that comes to my mind is that of a ‘Bonga’, a kind of a stray cat in my native language. These are dangerous and have got black fur with huge eyes. Trust me; you wouldn’t want to be close to this kind. This is a different case when it comes to Cyprus. Even though many of the cats are not domesticated, they still look well-fed and healthy. I remember the other day when a driver hit a cat crossing the road; within five minutes, the ambulance had already arrived. I am sure you are probably wondering how cats mainly dominate the Cyprus population. The story goes way back to the 11th century. A plague of snakes almost prevented building what is now known as the Holy Monastery of Saint Nicholas of the Cats. Construction began around the 11th century on the monastery under the patronage of Saint Helena. Unfortunately, a terrible drought hit the island during this time, allowing countless venomous snakes to multiply, driving off the monastery’s builders and even island locals. The only solution to the infestation was to fight snakes with cats, and they had 1,000 of the furry killers shipped to the island from Persia and Egypt. Soon the savior had trained the felines to react to two bells: one signaling feeding time and the other signaling snake hunting time. After battles that reportedly left most cats missing eyes and noses, the snakes were eradicated from the island. So when you get to visit Cyprus, don’t be surprised to see cats everywhere!
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