After a recent trip to The Tala Monastery Cat Park, I was so humbled by the relentless work that goes on that I had to set this page up. The Cat Park is managed by Dawn and Mark Foote, who set it up in 2011 after moving the resident cats from the nearby Agios Neofytos Monastery, and now has almost 1000 residents! It is run entirely by volunteers, who receive no government funding at all. They rely on donations and sponsorship of the cats to keep going and their annual running costs are in excess of €50,000. This includes costs for food, medication, vet bills, a programme of spaying and neutering and maintenance costs at the cat park. Every penny/cent of all donations goes to the cats and their welfare, with none of the staff taking any money at all.

Funds are already very low and additional cats and kittens are being dumped regularly, usually without a donation. Dawn and Mark are struggling to keep their heads above water and now have additional stress with more kittens and cats being left on an almost daily basis. Please, if you are able to, donate to this very worthy cause. www.talamonasterycats.com www.twitter.com/talacats?lang=en

I am personally volunteering next year as part of my holiday and all funds raised will be presented on my trip. Thank You for your time.