The stray cats of Dubrovnik

One thing that struck me about Dubrovnik was the number of stray cats - many of them kittens - roaming around the old town. It%26#39;s very sad, to see them scrounging for food - but people do seem to feed them, locals and tourists alike.

I fell in love with an adorable calico kitten who had staked out the Pile Gate as her territory - she reminded me of one back home. I wound up buying lunch meat for her from a local market and feeding her. (She didn%26#39;t want the dry cat food I tried first! So she can%26#39;t be starving.) She was very friendly and obviously grew up around people. The last day I was able to pick her up and hold her for five minutes while she purred away. Heartbreaking that I had to leave her behind.

I ran into a local woman who drops off a few tins of open cat food near the gate every night on her way home in the old town for this cat and her mother cat - so I know they don%26#39;t go hungry. I just wish this little calico could find a home - unlike most of the other strays I saw, she was very friendly and seemed healthy, and I%26#39;m sure she%26#39;d make a great pet.

So any of you locals in Dubrovnik...I know you know there are many stray cats around, but if you know someone looking for an adorable calico kitten, I can tell you where to find her!

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Ive just got back from dubrovnik, we stayed in lapad and there were loads of cats and kittens everywhere, they were so cute, a lot of locals do feed them as we saw this many times, however some look like they need medical help ie many had bad eyes, it was heart wrenching seeing all these cats and kittens. If I lived there I think I would have to set up a cat sanctury and just go and get all those cats and kittens and look after them all.

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We have an expat organization here called the Dubrovnik Foreign Circle with many of the foreigners who now live in Dubrovnik. One of our aims is to teach the local population about spaying and neutering. One of our ladies has contacted a mobile spay clinic from Austria and we are trying to get them to come down and take care of as many of the cats and dogs we can catch.

So many of the locals do feed the cats and dogs, but they just will do nothing about neutering these animals. There is a dog kennel up in Bosanka but nothing for the cats. It is more than heartbreaking and we can only do so much and it begins with education and funding.

Our organization is a not for profit and we will be doing some fund raisers this winter to help get the money to pay for the mobile to come down.

It all begins with education and let%26#39;s hope we get through to the locals.

Dobrodosli u Dubrovnik

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And what about teaching the tourists not to feed them and leave them to the locals afterwards ?

You will hardly find any stray cats in non touristy towns.