Cats are known for not being fond of water, so this cat sanctuary in the Netherlands is truly unique — for not actually being based on dry land!
De Poezenboot — the cat boat — located in Amsterdam, was first set up by cat lover Henriette van Weelde back in 1966, when she found a mother cat and her kittens under a tree opposite her house on Amsterdam's Herengracht canal and took them in. Before long, the feline stray population grew and grew, and Henriette quickly became known as ‘the cat lady’ and people would bring her cats they were no longer able to look after
themselves.
Her home eventually became full so she decided to move the menagerie to an old Dutch sailing barge in 1968. The interior was stripped and converted into feline-friendly accommodation and before long, the barge was full of cats and volunteers began to come forward to help.
A second boat was purchased and fitted out in 1971, and now people were beginning to rehome the boat’s feline residents too. The original barge was retired in 1979 and replaced by a Dutch houseboat, fittingly known as an ‘ark’, which was specially fitted out to house cats.
De Poezenboot became a registered charity in June 1987 with the creation of Stichting de Poezenboot — the Catboat Foundation.Their website was launched in 2003 and gained international recognition, and has been featured on news sites across the world.
Today, the cat boat can host around 50 cats at a time and each cat pen includes a cosy bed and shelf for each cat to sit up high and watch the world go by. Of course, the Poezenboot is reinforced with special mesh to kee the cats safe and prevent them from falling into the water.
Visitors are able to come and meet the cats — up to four people at a time — but those wanting to adopt a cat must go through the traditional adoption process first. Henriette died in May 2005 at the age of 90 but the cat boat still continues on, run by a group of hardworking cat lovers trying to make a difference to cats in need in Amsterdam, and is kept going with the help of its volunteers and with donations from well-wishers.
You can find out more about the cat boat by visiting https://depoezenboot.nl/en