Testimonials
By Vicky Southern
Mother of Kallista & Athena
(In the UK now)
Kallista and Athena are 2 years old sisters, born on a street in Athens. Athena is a chocolate tortoiseshell, Kallista a blue tortoiseshell who lost a back foot. They were fostered by Joan at GLPCR until they were old enough to travel to the UK.
The care they received at GLPCR was wonderful. They were nurtured, well socialised, played with, and above all, loved as though they were Joan and Richard's own! Joan kept me updated and sent me lots of photos to show their progress.
Under Joan and Richard’s care, Kallista and Athena blossomed from sickly, tiny creatures into lively, confident kittens, easily coping with the journey to the UK. We’ve kept in contact with Joan and she’s always willing to provide any advice and support we may need, particularly regarding Kallista’s disability.
Our girls have matured into stunning cats. Athena is quiet but confident and Kallista is very, Very, VERY loud and bossy with us but timid around new people. They mean the world to our family and we are eternally grateful to GLPCR for bringing them into our lives. To anyone who feels the adoption process may be daunting, my advice is just do it! You will be supported every step of the way and these beautiful girls are proof of the amazing rewards.
By Céline Dupraz
Mother of Luna
(In Switzerland now)
In January 2019 I was following GLPCR for a while when suddenly I saw a picture of Luna all alone looking so lost that it broke my heart. I knew I had to do something so I wrote and proposed to adopt her.
Joan told me it was not going to be easy as Luna was quite feral and shy. Two months later she was ready to travel and thanks to one of GLPCR helpers, she arrived by plane to Switzerland. She was quite frightened at first. It took a lot of love and attention, but after a month or two she adjusted perfectly.
She is now this elegant Greek goddess with a very special character; independent, funny, always playing, and not to forget eating. I never regretted adopting her and love her very much. Her brother Maki loves her too but he is still not ready to admit it.
By Linda Moniharapon
Mother of Fonzie
(In Holland now)
Joan rescued our sweet Fonzie out of a dumpster when he was just a kitten. I was touched by the photos of him; so dirty, so small, and so brave without his mom. Unfortunately, we could not come to Syros earlier than 9 months later to collect him.
Meanwhile Joan took him in the house, socialized him, spent lots of time with him, and practiced with the travel carrier. She even walked outside with him in the carrier from time to time, so he had no problems traveling when the time came. He slept during our trip in the plane to Holland.
At Syros we spent one week near the sanctuary and every day we came to visit Fonzie, so that we could get used to each other. We continued to work at that connection in Holland. I worked and slept in Fonzie's room for a month. And then he started to explore his new world and became an indoor/outdoor happy, wonderful, healthy cat with a good heart. Thanks to Joan's care and education he has such a fine character, I am sure!
By Tuuli-Anna Kantola
Mother of Luna
(In Finland now)
Luna's Journey from Syros to northern Finland started with me contacting Joan from God's Little People Cat Rescue in July 2017. I was able to take some time off from work, so I could travel to Greece in late summer and collect her myself. First step was to figure out when Luna would be able to travel. She had to be big and strong enough for her shots, and then her microchip. When the dates were set I started to look for flights, hotel and ferry tickets - Joan gave me loads of good tips and advice on this.
For my stay in Syros I booked an apartment which was only a few minutes away from the GLPCR sanctuary, which was awesome! While staying there I visited Luna every day and got to spend some time with her, so we were able to get to know each other before traveling the over 4000km back to Finland!
I believe that thanks to this initial time together, our flights and the journey back went just perfect!
All in all my trip to Greece and back went smooth, all thanks to Joan and her husband Richard. Luna adapted well to her new and much colder home and gets along with her new sisters amazingly!
By Des & Prins
Parents of Pantouff
(In Holland now)
We had learned about GLPCR 3 years ago, when we read the rescue story of Chili and his siblings, on Syros, a little island where I had been coming since 1994 so the decision was made to adopt kitties from there. Greece has a huge problem with unwanted cats, either born on the streets from strays, abandoned, or simply thrown away as disposable products once born from a house cat that is not neutered.
We read the story about Pantouff, his rescue, and we wanted to adopt him. He stole our hearts from the beginning. To apply we sent a video of our home showing the future living conditions for Pantouff, and to tell them about ourselves. They always want to check which is a perfect thing to do in my opinion.
We decided to bring Pantouff to Holland ourselves, and there were no problems as everything was arranged very neatly. They got all the paperwork in order for us; a passport for the cat stating its vaccinations and info about the chip. All the cats are chipped, and spayed/neutered.
We were happy that our trip was also helped by the travel fund they raise, and we could even take an extra cat, little Claire, back to Holland to its new owner. We are very grateful that we could contribute in this way too. All cats at GLPCR are well looked after, before they go on their journey. So, if you want to adopt a cat (or more), GLPCR is a very trustworthy place to adopt from. I highly recommend them. You help the cat you adopt and you’re helping the Greek cats that stay behind at the same time, by opening up a space for a new rescue.
By Helen Hooper
Mom of Bella
(In the UK now)
We adopted our gorgeous girl, Bella, from God's Little People Cat Rescue in 2020. Not necessarily the most logical decision to make in the middle of a global pandemic, but Joan and Lila made the whole process so easy.
We were sent regular updates, photos and videos of Bella so we could stay in contact with her while we waited for various lockdowns to lift, and also for Bella to be well enough to travel. As a FIV cat, stress is something that she doesn’t do well with, and it was a priority of both Joan and Lila that she would only come to us when they were certain that it wouldn’t negatively impact her health.
They really do have the very best interests of the cats in their care at all times. Bella even received lifesaving nose cancer surgery. Such was their desire that Bella would have the least amount of stress possible on her journey that Lila accompanied her the entire way. Their organization of the trip was spot on, and we were given regular bulletins as they travelled.
I can’t recommend God's Little People Cat Rescue enough if you are looking to rehome a rescue cat. They are beyond professional and have such an obvious love for the cats in their care. I for one will continue to support them in their work for the stray cats of Syros. Helen, John and Bella from the UK.
