ATHENS – Videos go viral in this time of social media in an instant, and for all reasons, an now you can add a Greek-Australian woman coming to Greece – not to go to an island, archaeological site, the Acropolis or the beach – but see the legions of stray cats.

Newsweek – which said it couldn’t verify its own report – said Angela Giakas got a lot of notice on Instagram for her posts and why she came to Greece, being funny about the real reason for her travel.

“You went to Greece for the beaches, right?” she wrote on the text overlaying an Instagram reel of her vacation, which got 1,706,718 likes and 15.8 million views and counting. “Yeah… the beaches … right,” she wrote ironically.

https://www.newsweek.com/stray-cats-greece-travel-1930306

The montage starts by showing Giakas in glorious coastal locations but then cuts to her checking out stray cats that are everywhere in Greece, despite numerous cat ladies and cat lovers caring for them.

Greece is home to an estimated one million stray cats, according to Animal Action Greece (AAG) the report said, adding that many live in colonies and rely on the kindness of locals and tourists for food, shelter, and human contact.

Organizations such as AAG are dedicated to improving the lives of these animals by providing medical care and promoting spaying and neutering programs, the report added, the stray animals capable of spreading dangerous diseases.

The prevalence of stray cats was attributed to a lack of widespread neutering and the cats’ ability to thrive in the mild climate, the magazine said, noting that tourists can help by animal charities, feeding the cats, and even adopting them through organized programs.

There was a caution attached to approaching them, however, unless you want some quick claws coming at you, the recommendation being to do so slowly and carefully and provide food and water.

Many residents aren’t happy about it though as putting out food and water in neighborhoods leads to packs of the cats finding backyards to use as litter boxes, the smell in the summer overwhelming.

But Giakas has inspired other cat lovers around the world who plan on coming to Greece, which so far hasn’t advertised taking care of cats in its list of alternative tourism opportunities, like going to spas.

“That’s it I’m booking a flight,” wrote  Emily Rose Sullivan on social media. “Most of the pictures of my time in Greece were just pictures of cats or me and cats”  said one Instagram user about the excitement.

“I was expecting the food but this was even better,” said another, also crazy about Greece’s cats. Another wrote that, “Greece is such a beautiful and scenic country, it’s everything I ever dreamed it to be, the cats are a bonus can’t wait to return.”