Couple Fall for Stray Cat on Vacation, Spend $2,500 to Bring Him Home

A couple came back from vacation with more than they expected after they fell in love with a stray cat.
Rebecca Kate from Carmarthen in Wales was on vacation with her boyfriend in Paxos, Greece, telling Newsweek that they spotted a male cat “as soon as we got off the ferry.”
By the end of their weeklong trip, and some surprise visits from the feline to their villa, they decided to take him home—a process which cost a few thousand dollars—and name him Kostas.
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“He came into the villa and he was really injured,” She said. “His face was quite injured and we decided to try give him some food; he looked really skinny.
“We fed him and noticed he was really struggling to eat. When we were out one evening, as part of my video you can see, he saw us and followed us home.”
Paxos is an island close to Corfu in Greece and is popular with international tourists. According to Animal Action Greece, the country is home to over 3 million stray cats who can experience “short, distressing” lives.
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An American Pet Products Association’s 2019–2020 National Pet Owners Survey found that 14% of U.S. households and 26% of cat-owning households take care of free-roaming cats, mostly providing them with food and water.
Kate posted a video of the heartwarming story on TikTok under the handle @rkmb72, garnering over 1.5 million views since it was first shared on July 28.
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The on-screen text said: “POV [point of view]: You’re a stray Greek cat and you follow the right people home.” The video shows quick shots of the cat at the airport, on the plane, and enjoying life in his new home, playing and cuddling up to his new owners.
“Because he was injured, we didn’t know if anyone else would look after him,” Kate explained. “We were like softening his food and feeding it to him. You could see he was in pain.
“We decided to take him to the vet. She said he needs an operation and we said that we’d pay for it. We just knew then; we just had the discussion and we just thought, ‘We can’t leave him’. I think we had fallen in love with him at this point.”
Kate and her boyfriend Joel had to leave Kostas with the vet in Greece, who gave him vaccinations and issued a passport. Three weeks later, Kate returned to Paxos to collect her new pet and flew from there to Paris, where she met her boyfriend who drove them home to the U.K.
In total, taking in Kostas cost the couple approximately £2,000 ($2,676 USD), which included the cost of his operation from his injuries which was around £300. They also had to pay for flights there and back, vet fees for taking care of him for three weeks, and gas money to get from London to Paris and back.
It was estimated that Kostas was between 7 and 9 years old when the couple found him last year, so they consider him to be around 9 years old today. After initially meeting Kostas on their trip last October, he’s now settled into his new life in the U.K.
“It wasn’t simple, but once we decided we were having him, we knew we would find a way,” Kate said.
She added: “It took a while obviously for him to trust us. He would only really sit next to us. But over time, the more that we showed him love, the more he showed it back to us. Now he absolutely loves a cuddle.”
TikTok viewers were touched by the story. One user with the handle @vericonfused commented: “By far the best souvenir you could take home.”
Another, Amy McGarry, wrote: “We are in the process of adopting a little stray we met in Greece. This video makes me see why it’s so worth it.”
Irina Misailidou said: “With love from Greece with so many stray cats and dogs.”
While TikToker @jessicamarialara commented: “Watching him play warms my heart.”