Friendly cat, coming to say helloI love Dubrovnik. I have been there many times, both before and after its recent troubles. It is an exquisite place to visit for the day. It is also famous for its cats. Thankfully, over the years there are far fewer starving strays wandering the back streets than I used to see thirty years ago. But there are still one or two!

First thing I do when I get there and enter the City via the Pile Gateway, is to stroll straight down the main street (Stardum) past all the cafes and tourist shops, turn right and head for the aquarium near the Tower of St Ivan. It’s signposted and simple to find.

cat sanctuary garden with guillotineAs you then walk down the little cobbled lane, it opens out on your left into a small, very beautifully kept garden with, quite bizarrely, a guillotine! The flowers are always a riot of colours. There are a couple of green benches for you to sit on, and a table with a guest book for you to sign. It’s a little haven for local strays and there are always several cats sitting or relaxing in the sun there waiting to receive visitors! I have been visiting here for years, it is a delight.

In my rucksack I will have cat kibbles, and if on a cruise ship, also a tub of fresh meat and cheese so I can sit and feed and stroke the cats who are in wonderful condition, well fed and very friendly. The owner of this little cat sanctuary is very welcoming and will tell you about the cats that are there. There is a little wooden box on the wall to collect Euros to help with the cost of maintaining the cats.

It’s a nice cool place to sit, relax, have a swig of water while the cats come say hello to you. When you are homesick for your own cat, it’s nice to have a hug from a purring cat who is pleased to see you!

gergeous but skittyThere are still strays in Dubrovnik which you see as you wander the back streets within the city walls. This handsome black and white chap just caught my heart.

Behind shuttered buildings and gardens which are being repaired and renovated after the recent war, there are still one or two cats who are grateful for a scrap of meat or cheese. Some are skitty and will ran away with a mouthful of food whilst others are really friendly and will come and chat to you.


Carol Lake 

Tom Cat Towers

A Cats Purr

"Cats make one of the most satisfying sounds in the world: they purr ...

A purring cat is a form of high praise, like a gold star on a test paper. It is reinforcement of something we would all like to believe about ourselves - that we are nice."

Roger A Caras