Cats from Venice {Italy}

Venice, the city of water, is also a city of cats. In the watery world of gondolas and bridges, cats and people live together comfortably. No cars disturb the peace or threaten the inhabitants.

Crossing the two-and-a-half mile bridge from Mestre on the mainland, you arrive at Piazzale Roma, west of the train station. From this point, you have only two travel choices: to go by boat or on foot.

The only vehicles seen in Venice are carts silently rolling across an arched bridge or rumbling down a path between busy streets. Children on bicycles fitted with training wheels unsteadily circle the plazas, as mothers push baby carriages and watch over the bicycling children.

The Venetians are tolerant of cats. In fact, the cats of Venice are cherished, fed, and watched over by people who appreciate the serenity and self-sufficiency of cats.

Once, when I was strolling down a passage, the bony remains of a fish suddenly fell from a high window right down next to a cat. This act of serendipity did not surprise me--it was in keeping with the mystery of the city.

Source: The Cats of Venice by Shin Otani

Cat from Leiden {Netherlands}

Just like Amsterdam, Leiden in the Netherlands features a large number of small canals. It's mainly known as a university city and is one of Europe's most prominent scientific research centers. This gives Leiden a bustling and international feel.

Many famous people live or have lived there, including Carice van Houten (Melisandre in Game of Thrones), Albert Einstein, and Rembrandt. However, Leiden's most discussed inhabitant is... a cat.

Jacco aka Buurtpoes Bledder was the adopted pet of one of the residents of a student house in Leiden. As soon as he was allowed outside, he started roaming the neighborhood around the Nieuwe Rijn, looking for company. He particularly loved the cafés, shops, bars and offices in the historic central district. Many of the managers and customers started posting his adventures on Facebook, and that's how he became a local celebrity. 

Photos: Marjolein Goes

Cats from London {England}

Welcome to the UK's first cat café: Lady Dinah's Cat Emporium.

«Lady Dinah's owes its genesis to a bad day at work,» founder Lauren Pears explains in the book London Pubcats. Lauren was a senior project manager working in computer games who, after a miserable day at the office, had her mood lightened on the way home by the affections of a stray cat. «It made me realize that everything seems better when there's a cat. I wrote my business plan the next day.»

The idea was to create a place where people who didn't have a cat of their own would be able to come and enjoy some feline company.

After a successful crowdfunding campaign that raised almost £110,000, the café opened its doors in March 2014.

Even though there are many pubs in London where you can enjoy the company of one or two cats (The Charlotte Despard and the Old Eagle's pub, to name a few), Lady Dinah's Cat Emporium has become the place to be for cat lovers visiting the capital.

Lady Dinah's Cat Emporium has become so popular that you usually can't get in without a reservation, not even on a weekday afternoon outside of the holiday season.

A reservation costs £10 (to be paid in advance). For that price, you get one non-alcoholic drink and 90 minutes in the company of the cats.

You can also opt for High Tea. For £25, you receive 90 minutes with the resident felines, two drinks per person, and a high tea tier to share (which will be more than you'll be able to eat).

The basement floor of the café is decorated like the magical forest of Alice in Wonderland. This is also where the name of the café comes from since Dinah is Alice's kitten.

The top floor has a more neutral setting.

The wellbeing of the cats is of utmost importance in Lady Dinah's Cat Emporium. There are more rules to follow than in most other cat cafés (wash your hands before entering, don't pick up the cats, don't wake them up, etc), but that is a good thing.

Guests are more than welcome to play with the cats, and there are plenty of toys to assist with that.

All the residents are rescued/adopted instead of bought. If the staff notices that one of the cats is not enjoying café life anymore, they will rehome it.

The café also helps spread awareness about the benefits of spaying and neutering, especially for female cats who are at reduced risk of uterine disease later in life if they are spayed.

Address: 152-154 Bethnal Green Road, London, England

More info here.

P.S. Some other interesting cat cafés: Tokyo / Ghent / Brussels / Amsterdam / Seoul / Nice / Seattle

Cat from Valldemossa {Mallorca}

When Frédéric Chopin and George Sand lived on Mallorca between 1838 and 1839, they stayed in Cell no. 4 in the Carthusian Monastery of Valldemossa. These days, this monastic cell is known as the Chopin Museum. Here, you can admire the composer's Pleyel piano, sent to him from Paris, on which he finished some of his most famous compositions (like various Preludes, one Polonaise, his second Ballade, and the Third Scherzo).

When visiting the museum, you'll likely meet an Avalon-lookalike, either inside or in front of the museum. This Turkish Van cat doesn't officially belong to the monastery (the staff doesn't even know his name or where he comes from), but he has chosen Cell no. 4 as his favorite Valldemossa hangout.

An entrance ticket to the Chopin Museum costs four euros. This only covers a visit to the officially recognized Chopin Cell, where the Pleyel piano is displayed but doesn't include the entrance to all other museums in the monastery.

Address: Plaça Cartoixa 4, Celd 4, Valldemossa, Mallorca

Cats from Valldemossa {Mallorca}

Valldemossa is one of the most charming inland villages on the Balearic island of Mallorca. Perched in the Tramuntana mountains, it sports some breathtaking viewpoints on the surrounding hills filled with olive, oak, and almond trees.

The center is ideal to cozy up in a restaurant with a drink, or to stop by some souvenir shops, museums, and art galleries. However, you may want to venture farther away, into the 'uneventful' winding alleys. Not only will you see many pretty, ancient blonde-stone houses here, but also lots and lots of cats.

Cat from London {England}

When you're in London and are planning to visit Camden town and its markets, make sure to stop at the music pub The Old Eagle. A good reason for your visit would be their cat, Churchill (or just Church for the friends).

Churchill arrived at The Old Eagle two years ago during Christmas-time. Someone came to the pub holding in his hands two kittens that had been rejected by their mother. The pub manager, Jimmy McGrath, decided to keep the kittens and named them Winnie and Churchill (after Winston Churchill).

Unfortunately, Winnie was run over by a car and is no longer with them. «Church is a lot more characterful and has a lot more swagger since Winnie is not here anymore,» says Allison, the pub owner's daughter. «He's also a good hunter. He does the work he's here to do, and sometimes more.»

Read next = Meet the cat of London's Gipsy Hill Train Station

Churchill is extremely popular with tourists. Especially Americans want to meet him, but Japanese tourists as well.

The regulars like him, too. Each day, an elderly man comes to the pub, just so he can sit next to his favorite cat.

«Sometimes, there's literally a queue of people for the cat,» says pub owner Jimmy McGrath in the book London Pubcats.

Read next = The Ghosts and Cats of London's Highgate Cemetery

If you want to meet Churchill, make sure you visit The Old Eagle pub during the day. Often, tourists come in on a busy Friday night and wonder why the cat is not there. Churchill likes his peace and quiet.

But sometimes, he can be out for the day, so you never know for sure whether he'll be around or not.

Ask the owner or staff for some treats if the cat is around. Except... he's not allowed Dreamies. «He goes psycho when he has them,» Allison explains.

Also, he's known for snagging a prawn from your plate if you let him.

Read next = Move over cat cafés; this is Britain's first ever cat pub

The Old Eagle pub is open from Monday to Friday between 12 pm and 3 pm and between 6 pm and 10 pm, on Saturday between 1 pm and 10 pm, and on Sunday between 1 pm and 9 pm.

Address: 251 Royal College Street (near Camden Road), London, England.

Check out the book London Pubcats by Vicky Lane and Tim White if you want to learn more about Churchill and all the other pub cats of London.