I think the locals have mixed feelings. A lot of them keep and love cats but the 'Greek' attitude to cats is different to the UK/Ireland where ownership is claimed. In Greece/Cyprus cats are considered 'free' and most 'pets' are cats that have just wandered in to a house/hotel etc and stayed. The true feral cats are sometimes seen as vermin because of the numbers but are largely tolerated because they keep rodents and reptiles at bay. Some of the villages cull the cats but then get a rodent/reptile problem and let the cat numbers grow, only to keep repeating the cycle. The big problem is that the Cypriots don't get the cats spayed/neutered so the numbers become a problem. There was a Government programme but the cash was cut when the local economy crashed. However, some private individuals do pay vets to neuter and the tradition is that when a cat is done it has one of its ears clipped so that that can be seen. Overall the island is just full of cats - they are everywhere and when the sun goes down it can be like living in a jungle with the noise of cats confronting each other in the darkness!
Overall, animal cruelty is a bit of a weak point in Cyprus - all animals are involved there. However, I don't know if the problem is any worse than the U.K. as I haven't seen any stats.
