destination Mediterranean
MEET THE CATS OF KOTOR
BY JOE WALL
“In ancient times, cats were worshiped as gods; they have never forgotten this.” — Unknown (but most likely a cat owner)
You won’t spot giant pyramids rising from seas of sunbaked sand as you sail the winding, 17-mile Boka Kotorska (Bay of Kotor). Nor will the towering limestone cliffs of Mount Lovćen be adorned with paintings and hieroglyphics celebrating the prominence of cats in ancient Egyptian society. When you reach Kotor’s secluded, mountain-rimmed harbor and begin exploring the beautifully preserved fortified city, however, you quickly realize you are in a place that reveres felis catus in a way those Egyptians would have saluted for eternity.
With a stunning mix of natural splendor and medieval ambiance that led UNESCO to declare it a World Natural and Historical Heritage Site, Kotor’s charm is greatly enhanced by a thriving cat population amidst its Old-World cluster of terracotta roofs, stone churches, and café-strewn squares. Known historically as Cattaro—an ironic foreshadowing that dates to the city’s time under Venetian control— Montenegro’s oldest town is also regularly referred to as a “feline paradise,” a “city of cats” and an “urban cat sanctuary.” Labels that fill Kotor’s human populace with pride.
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