Looking for input to protect strays from dogs

[Tina B and crew]

Well, Nine Lives Greece lost another cat last night...Stumpy had been mauled by a dog on the National Gardens (one of the areas they care for stray and feral cats). In spite of the fact that they were able to get him into ICU at the vet's he succumbed to his injuries. NLG has been doing its best to make sure the cats are safe from dogs, feeding them up high if they can, staying around while they eat, and most importantly working their butts off to find homes...but the dogs continue to be a problem and unfortunately they lose cats. I think the cats are often most vulnerable when eating. Someone suggested possibly feeding them less...but that would mean having volunteers do more feedings. The cats are safe in some places...like Plaka where I fed them...they had a fence they could easily get behind that the dogs couldn't.

So what's the point in all this? Even thought I am not there I want to help, so I am looking for ANY suggestions. Unfortunately the stray dog population is not diminishing, the authorities don't care, and sometimes it is "owned" dogs that attack the cats. I just want to see these cats safe. Any thoughts?

[Traci]

Well, fencing a wide area would certainly help.

How are the stray dogs surviving? Do people feed them as well? There needs to be a seperation between stray dogs and cats, obviously, and obviously due to pack behavior, so if people aren't feeding the stray dogs, perhaps they should be, in areas away from cats.

My only idea is the fencing. Feeding them less does nothing, they need to eat, and I assume they are only fed once or twice a day - cats are energetic, expend that energy and need to replenish it. Poor nutrition and poor health result from insufficient feeding.

I'm guessing many of the cats are seniors, or young cats who are not yet wise to the world, so escaping the dogs could be detrimental - feeding on high platforms, etc is all well and good, but fencing is the most practical method to prevent fatalities, when they are eating AND otherwise, like resting, napping, etc. Competing for food is one thing, and dogs will always win - so fencing is the only practical and wise decision.

It really is too bad there is no authority there to fine owners, to shelter, etc - nothing is ever accomplished for the animals when these things do not exist. This is why rescue is so hard!

[Tina B and crew]

Sorry, been out of town. Thanks for the response though! There is no possibility of doing any fencing since the place that has the worse problem is in the National Gardens. I think the person who suggested feeding them less meant less at one time but feeding them more often. They try to feed in areas where the cats are able to get away from the dogs, but some cats just get caught. Authorities...HA! They don't care. And many of the people don't either. They have had awful problems with people poisoning both cats and dogs. Fortunately the authorities did pass some anti-cruelty laws so now there are repercussions of one is caught poisoning, but I doubt they really enforce it heavily. The area I fed the cats in had a fence that was easy for the cats to get through and the dogs could not follow. It was a great place to feed them because they were up high and able to put a barrier between them and the dogs if need be, but weren't totally confined. I was just wondering if anyone had any ideas. I hate that the cats are suffering.

The dogs are fed or scavenge, just depends. Most of them are strays, but not all of them.

It's just heart breaking