The first photo shows you how he was when we met him. The other three is how you would find him now, he’s a living story of resilience. Read about Markos' long journey to safety.
Iris is Adopted!
Alex - A little fighter
Rakan’s Incredible Recovery: Surviving a Massive Wound Against All Odds
From Hardship to Freedom: Lemonia the Donkey Finds a Safe Home at AZI
How Two Orphan Cats Built Their Own Family
On April 22, a father and his two sons found a kitten on the beach of Agia Anna in Amorgos. Together, they searched for his mother, and checked in on him throughout the following 24 hours. But, after a full day went by with no sign of the kitten’s mother, they called us. We took him in, named him Eclair, and immediately began an aggressive bottle-feeding schedule so the kitten could regain his strength.
Meet Pocopico
Meet Pocopico. When he first came to us — an entire week after taking a hit from a car — his jaw was broken. He couldn’t see or walk straight. A preexisting respiratory disease made the situation all the more urgent.
We rushed him to the nearby island of Naxos for intensive care. We knew we had a fighter on our hands, and we never give up hope.
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:
When he came to our Center: https://youtube.com/shorts/XnbxBd2_4b0?feature=share
At 13 days old: https://youtube.com/shorts/pCoWozPCeV0?feature=share
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!
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/
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!






