Kotor is cleaner, and the cats are full

Kotor's cats, as a symbol of the city, have been given a location where they can find safe food, and, according to the Kotor Tourist Organization, there will be more. A few days ago, a recycling machine was installed in the parking lot near the church of Blažena Ozana, in the location near the "cat town", as the locals call it, which, after the user leaves the used packaging, delivers a portion of cat food.

"The initiative was launched in 2018, after a visit to our sister city of Gaziantep in Turkey, where devices like this, as well as the so-called cat towns with houses, playgrounds and feeders the usual content. The change of government in Kotor, covid, recovery and stabilization of finances have resulted in us starting the implementation of this project only now", told "Vijesta" from TO Kotor.

Director TO Jovan Ristic he said that the plan was to place the same machines in several locations, and that the first one, near the church of Blessed Ozana, was a logical choice, because there have been houses there for decades, as well as people who take care of them on a voluntary basis.

"We will continue with the installation of typical houses and devices in Dobrota and Škaljar, and only houses in a couple of other locations in the Old Town. If there is a need, we will continue the action in other parts of our municipality," he told "Vijesta".

The vending machine at the "cat town" works on the principle of inserting plastic packaging, for example water and juice bottles. For one dose of food of 35 grams, two empty plastic bottles or cans are needed.

The first amount of food, as announced by TO Kotor, was provided by the pet store "Zooland". Ristić clarified that, in the first phase, TO Kotor will take care of making sure that the vending machines are always filled with food, but that they expect volunteers to get involved in these activities very soon.

From TO Kotor, fellow citizens and guests are asked to feed the cats with food intended for them and to avoid giving them food for human consumption.

"When the container in the machine is full, you can transfer the food to the bowls in front of the houses or simply leave it in the machine", they asked the users, with an appeal to keep and use the equipment properly.

As Ristić told "Vijesta", the machine will be emptied by employees of the Kotor Municipal Enterprise, who will take the contents to the recycling yard for disposal.

"The collected packaging is deposited at the recycling yard of the Municipal Enterprise, and then it goes to recycling with other collected waste that is suitable for the same," he explained.

The director of the Kotor Tourist Organization said that the first results of the action are already visible.

"The first results are visible, and the action had a lot of publicity, tourists, but also the local population already use the recycling machine extensively, and the cats have already got used to it, because the device is located in the immediate vicinity of their houses", he said.

When asked for advice to other local governments, if they want to do the same in their territory, he said that good will, location and money are needed, but that it is not a lot of money.

"I hope that such actions will attract socially responsible companies and individuals, as was the case with us, and that this will further facilitate implementation," he said.

They arrived in Bok with ships

Kotor is often on lists of the best cities for cat-loving travelers. It is said that cats first appeared in Montenegro a long time ago, when sailors brought their ships into the harbor, says the website of the "Kotor Kitties" organization.

"Kotor Kitties" is a partnership of volunteer organizations, which are dedicated to reducing the suffering of Montenegrin city animals through a sterilization program.

"A targeted and continuous spaying and neutering program is the most effective way to deal with cat and dog populations that have outgrown the local community's ability to properly care for them," they said. From 2018 to today, 9.327 cats were sterilized through that program.