Cat Museum Kotor

The Cat Museum of Kotor is the love child of curator Pierro Pazzi, a collector from Venice, Italy, who amassed this impressive collection of cat memorabilia and art over many decades, which is now on display in the heart of Kotor’s Old Town. And between hundreds of cat-inspired postcards, antique advertising, coins, and posters, there are some funny and genuinely unorthodox finds such as a stamp from 1927 showing a cat motif for the furrr-st time ever.

The museum opened its doors in 2013 and boasts a rich collection of thousands of items that span from the 16th century to the present day. Most of the pieces stem from a private collection donated by an Italian countess while others came to the museum via targeted purchases and further donations from all over the world.

Kotor

Full of Mediterranean character, orange rooftops, and a delightful waterfront promenade, the charming coastal town of Kotor deserves a special look.

Kotor’s Old Town

The streets of Kotor’s Old Town are buzzing with intimate shops, cafes, and restaurants. Of course, there is also the iconic Cathedral and numerous pretty piazzas.

The Cat Museum is home to one cute resident cat that roams the two museum rooms meowing, welcoming affection, and patiently allowing to be petted by visitors. Feline enthusiasts and those with a fondness for those quirky pussy muses of past centuries will undoubtedly feel at home here.

The collection of international prints and drawings is informed by a deep sympathy for the lives of cats and provides a guide to some remarkable stories of the amazing art history of our feline friends. So we can learn that cat motifs started to appear first in Minoan, Greek, and Roman art, disappeared almost entirely during the Middle Ages, and emerged again during the Renaissance.

The oldest exhibits in the Cat Museum date from this monumentally transformative period. By the 19th century, cats appeared as subjects in artwork everywhere, and some authentically interesting examples are presented on the walls and shelves of the Kotor Cat Museum, including what seem to be the first cat-themed postcards.

The museum’s mission is to bring cat art and cat education to the Montenegrin public through seasonal exhibitions that run from May to October every year. There are also some controversial pieces like the one picture showing Russian President and strongman Vladimir Putin petting his cat.

Kotor – A Town of Cats

For Kotor, cats have unmistakably been a part of daily life and popular culture for centuries. Walk through the streets of the old town and see people feeding and petting an armada of stray cats. Some recycling machines dispense dry cat food in exchange for plastic bottles – throw two bottles in and receive a handful of granules in return.

Among Kotor’s purrmanent residents, there are hundreds or thousands of cats occupying the town’s narrow streets and charming squares. Presumably, the first ones arrived in the Middle Ages by merchant ships from faraway lands to help fight the plague in 1346. Cats were immediately welcomed because they would hunt rats, snakes, and other animal carriers of rampant diseases.

Nurtured by Kotor’s tight-knit community, their lives were quickly woven into the old town’s fabric. Today, cats are the symbol of Kotor, and you will find their motifs printed on every other souvenir. And while Kotor’s coat of arms depicts a red lion, it is probably only a matter of time before it gets replaced by its cuter, smaller feline relative.

The Souvenir Shop

The Cat Museum of Kotor is located on the cinema square, adjacent to the Church of Saint Michael. If you are looking for an authentic and beautiful souvenir from Kotor, you might strike it rich in the museum’s store filled with funny cat merchandise. Here, you can choose from diverse prints, souvenir magnets, and of course the Cats of Kotor City Calendar (5€).

The Cat Museum Kotor
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Trg Gospa od Anđela – Stari Grad 371, 85330 Kotor
10 am – 8 pm (May to October)

Entrance Fee: 1€ (adults) and 0,50€ (children)

The small entrance fee goes towards feeding and providing medical care to Kotor’s feral cats.

Things to do in Kotor

Here is our list of the best things to do in Kotor, from family-friendly outdoor adventures and breathtaking hikes to discovering Kotor’s cultural highlights.