By popular request, here are a whole bunch of pictures of the cats of Kotor. But to make it seemly, we’ve also added some information about them. That way, you can legitimately say you read this blog for the articles…
It does not take a keen investigative mind to discover that there are cats in Kotor Old Town (and elsewhere, including in our neighbourhood and all along the coastline of Dobrota). They have been around a long time, probably brought by sailors to take care of rats and snakes. And indeed, there is not a snake to be seen, nor a rat. There are, however, an awful lot of cats. The city’s original name, Cattaro, comes from the sheer number of cats.
One of our Montenegrin friends even told us that the cats saved the city during the 1979 earthquake. They wailed for days and so the people of Kotor evacuated.
A number of groups in town look after them, with some providing food each morning, and some offering spaying or neutering and, occasionally, permanent homes. There’s even a cat museum (tragically, not open out of season). You can donate at Kotor Kitties if you like. Or buy one of their calendars! Or, if you’re in Montenegro, you can go to one of the several cat-themed souvenir stores.
Shopkeepers own many of the cats of Kotor, sort of; they live on a particular street and the people on the street look out for them.
The square of St Mary’s, inside the north gate of the Old Town, has beds, food and water. And so there is always a large concentration of cats to be found there; locals call it ‘cat park’.
Here’s the thing: there are lots of places with cats. But Kotor is a very small place with a very large number of cats, which means you are sure to run into them every time you step outside. So if you are cat-a-holic, this is the place for you!
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Bellissime le foto ed anche molto bello il testo. Eravamo già in contatto allora, ma non avevo avuto modo di seguire i vostri articoli. Kotor/Cattaro, davvero interessante. Confesso che nella mia famiglia adoriamo gli animali, i cani e i gatti di casa sono tutti dei gran privilegiati, come del resto questi cugini del Montenegro. Buon proseguimento del viaggio, miao!!