Kotor Cats: Why the Old Town Is Full of Them and Where to See Them

Why Kotor is known as the city of cats

The municipality's domestic cats are so numerous that they have become the unofficial good-luck symbol of the historic town, while the Venetian lion stays the official one. Kotor Kitties, a charity working in the municipality, describes the town this way on its own site, and the same association has long since been picked up by visitors. Treat the cats as part of the street life rather than an attraction with an entrance, and you will enjoy them more.

The association has practical roots rather than mystical ones. Cats arrived with sailing ships that carried them to keep rats and mice out of supplies, and once docked along the bay they took up residence in the towns. The Bay of Kotor sits between mountains and sea with plenty of mice, snakes and rats to hunt, which gave them reason to stay.

How the cats ended up in the old town lanes

Stari Grad, the old town inside the walls, is free of cars and has very few dogs off the lead, and locals and visitors feed the cats regularly. Those conditions explain the density: the lanes are safe ground for a cat, and there is usually food around. If you are mapping the walls, gates and squares before you arrive, keep a copy of the Kotor map handy so you know when you are inside the walls.

The same conditions make the old town a dumping ground for unwanted cats and kittens, because some owners see a car-free, well-fed area as a safe place to leave them. That is why the population in and around Stari Grad keeps rising and why local care work centres on neutering rather than feeding alone. Knowing this changes how you read the scene: a cluster of cats near a doorstep is not a colony put there for tourists.

Where you'll meet them: the lanes of the Old Town (Stari Grad)

Expect cats throughout the streets of Stari Grad, in courtyards, on steps and along the quieter passages where foot traffic thins. Kotor Old Town is laid out around its gates and squares, so a slow loop on foot covers most of the ground in under an hour. Early morning and late afternoon are calmer than the middle of a cruise day, and the cats are easier to watch when the lanes are not packed.

If you want structure rather than a wander, a Kotor walking tour will take you past the main squares and churches, where cats loiter on the warm stone; the side alleys off that route are where you find them in numbers. Either way, the old town is small and walkable, so you do not need transport to see them.

Souvenir-hunting in the same lanes is a separate pleasure from cat-watching. The Museums in Kotor page covers the town's indoor collections, including the Kotor Maritime Museum, if you want a break from the streets between cat-spotting stretches.

Cats of Kotor: the shop at Stari Grad 490

Cats of Kotor is a cat-themed gift and home-decor gallery at Stari Grad 490 in Kotor, run by Oxana and Konstantin and established in 2012. It sells cat-related gifts and home decor, either of their own design or made with local artists and craftsmen, so it is the place to go if you want a cat-themed souvenir that is more than a fridge magnet. The shop's own page gives the street address but no opening hours, so check before making a special trip.

The shop runs a wishlist system for people who cannot visit Montenegro in person, but it ships products only within Montenegro because of postal costs and logistics, so do not plan on international delivery. For orders over 50 EUR paid in cash it advertises a 10 per cent discount, which is a shop promotion rather than a reason to make a special trip. Stock rotates, so what is on the shelves on your visit is a matter for the shop's own updates.

If cat-themed shopping is not your priority, there is plenty else that costs nothing, from the gates and squares to the waterfront outside the walls; the free things to do in Kotor page covers those options. Pairing a short cat-lane wander with the free sights keeps a low-cost day moving.

Cat care in Kotor and how visitors can help

Kotor Kitties is the local organisation to look for if you want to support cat welfare rather than just photograph the animals. It funds spay and neuter surgery, with an ear tip to mark treated cats, for the population in and around Stari Grad. Donations go through the charity's own channels, which are listed on its site alongside its registered charity details in England and Wales and its status as a non-governmental organisation in Montenegro.

Feeding cats yourself is a common instinct and a contentious one: locals do feed the old-town population, but the charity's own framing is that the population is out of control precisely because the area is attractive to abandoned animals. If you want to help, a donation to a neutering programme does more than a bag of cat food.

Photographing the cats without getting in the way

The lanes are shared space: residents live behind those doors and the cats are used to people but not to being cornered. Crouch at a distance, use a longer lens rather than chasing a cat into a doorway, and skip the flash in shaded passages. Do not pick cats up or move them off steps to get a cleaner shot, and keep food out of the frame unless you want a crowd of cats and gulls.

Some cats are friendly and will approach; others will not, and a cat that walks away is giving you its answer. Children should be told to let the cat come to them rather than grabbing, particularly in the narrow lanes where a startled animal has nowhere to run. If you see a cat that looks unwell, the sensible step is to pass the location to a local welfare group rather than attempt treatment yourself.

Cruise-day crowds in the cat lanes

On days when cruise ships are in, the old town fills quickly and the lanes the cats use become a slow-moving queue, which is poor for both photography and the animals' peace. Ship schedules are the thing to check before you plan a morning inside the walls, and our Kotor Old Town guide helps you read the gates and squares as you plan around the busy periods.

If your priority is the cats rather than the churches and squares, go early, before the tour groups arrive, and leave the middle of the day for indoor stops. The light in the narrow lanes is also better in the morning, when the sun reaches the stone without the hard shadows of midday.

Which cat stop belongs in your Kotor day

Build your day around the lanes of Stari Grad first, since that is where the free-roaming cats actually are, then add the shop at Stari Grad 490 if cat-themed gifts appeal. Keep the charity in mind if you want your visit to leave something behind, and check the cruise calendar before committing to a midday wander.