Step On Board Amsterdam’s Cat Boat
Cats hate water. We all know that. But in Amsterdam, it looks like they don’t mind being surrounded by water. In fact, they love living above it. Care to join them as they watch the swans and ducks swim? Well, you better hop on the Cat Boat now!
Named as De Poezenboot (sounds like Puss in Boot but nope, it means “The Cat Boat”), this floating cat sanctuary is home of the 50 cats that were once homeless and found their home in an unusual shelter on an Amsterdam canal. Now, they are all taken care by volunteers and well-loved by visitors while they give back the love with unlimited headbutts.
History says that it just came to life back in 1966 when cat lover Henriette van Weelde took home a family living under a tree. After that, another cat joined… and another… and another. The family grew big and the owner needed to take them somewhere else so she found the perfect place just right in front of her home, at a Singel canal where people lived in houseboats. The big feline family since then stayed in the boat and continued to grow which made a second boat purchase necessary to accommodate more cats.
From a cat shelter, De Poezenboot is now a tourist spot for cat lovers and future parents of these cute fluffy balls. Purrfect.
Sources: Poezenboot
