The Cats of Montenegro

Montenegro is a country filled with rugged landscapes, amazing mountain views and a rich and diverse history….oh and cats. Montenegro has lots of cats.

During our week long trip to Montenegro in October one of the wonderful things about our stay in Budva, trips to Kotor and even our walks down to Bečići and Pržno was that everywhere we went there were so many furry little friends. While there is of course so much to see in this wonderful country the street cats and cafe kitties were certainly a draw for many of the visitors – us included, so we thought we’d share just some of the many, many cat photos that we took while in Montenegro.

Cat sitting in a doorway in Budav, Montenegro
Doorways seem to be a favourite spot for the cats of Montenegro

We were based in Budva and there was certainly no shortage of feline friends preening in doorways or lounging under benches. The Old Town is certainly a hotspot for cats in Budva and during our stay there were so many little kittens everywhere adding so much cuteness to our wanders around this historic area.

And these guys aren’t just restricted to the main tourist spots either. We chose to take an all day hike along the coastal paths to get the famous view over Stevi Stefan and no matter where we stopped there would be a cat or kitten ready to pounce.

Sleeping Cat in Budva Montenegro

The cats in Montenegro are definitely hardy creatures but I’m sure they certainly rely on the generosity of tourists. While on our tour day with Monte360, one of our fellow travel mates had opted to buy a packet of treats to feed the  cats in Kotor and those we passed throughout the trip.

We found that they cats themselves weren’t even too bothered about a bit of a hike to find a sunny spot. We found this beautiful fluffball half way up the Kotor City Walls steps. He certainly had the perfect lookout spot but he didn’t seem to bothered about the views as long as there was plenty of sunshine and maybe the odd tourist tidbit.

This lazy kitty along the Kotor City Walls is just one of the many cats of Montenegro
This lazy kitty along the Kotor City Walls is just one of the many cats of Montenegro

Kotor also has a museum dedicated to the cats of Montenegro but unfortunately we didn’t have time to visit “Cattro Kotor” but it seems to get pretty good reviews online so it might be worth a look if you happen to be in the city.

Most of the animals that we spotted and spoke to during our travels seemed to be fairly healthy and generally friendly. One shopkeeper in Kotor did mention that though they are not technically anyone’s cat they do take to feeding them.

Cat in Prnzo, Montenegro

This is definitely somewhere to go is you are a cat fan and turns out we’re not the only ones to notice as Kotor has even been feature in a Lonely Planet article for the best spots for “feline fanatics”

Of course it is important to point out that there are always risks when talking to strange animals. Not all the cats we met were super friendly and after witnessing some horrid little local children being quite cruel it was clear to see why. Remember, stray or feral cats might have bugs so do take care.

Have you ever been somewhere that has so many cats? Do you ever talk to stray animals while travelling?

 


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Montenegro is a country filled with rugged landscapes, mountain views and diverse history....oh and cats. Check out our post on the cats of Montenegro.