Cat from Gimmelwald {Switzerland}

When you book a trip to the tiny, stunning village of Gimmelwald, Switzerland, chances are you'll meet the local “mountain guide cat.” She recently made the news when a tourist got lost while he was hiking in the mountains, and the cat showed him the way back to the village.

“It was the end of ski season, so the lifts weren't working, and some of the trails were closed,” the hiker says. “The cat came up to me, and as she was walking she kept looking at me to follow. She led me straight to the path that would take me down to the valley. She seemed super friendly considering I was a total stranger.”

The mountain guide cat belongs to a hostel in Gimmelwald and often goes hiking with tourists. She walks ahead of hikers, pauses, and strikes a pose. She never fails to make their day.

Source: The Telegraph

Cats from Hermigua {La Gomera}

Greetings from La Gomera.

Here are not that many cats, but there are some special places where you can find them. One of these rare places is the hidden beach Playa de la Caleta near Hermigua, in the North-West of the island La Gomera. You can reach this beach by foot on a hike from Hermigua, or by car taking a quite narrow winding road. But it is worth it. At the moment, there are several young cats at the beach.

Text and cat pictures: Claudia Mannes

Related post: Cats of Arure, La Gomera

Cats from Calp {Spain}

The gorgeous coastal town of Calp in Valencia, Spain, has a lot to offer as far as beauty and tourist attractions go. However, no one would expect a clowder of cats welcoming them on top of the Peñón de Ifach, a natural park that is practically a small mountain. You'll be surprised at how fearlessly the cats look down upon the town of Calp.

Source: Lazy Penguins

Cats from Għajnsielem {Gozo}

Meet the Stray Cats of Gozo

Malta's green little sister is located a short 20 minutes ferry right North of the main island of the Maltese Archipelago. Only 67 square kilometres in size, Gozo (Maltese: Għawdex) has much history to offer, including one of the oldest free standing temple in the world, 5,500 years old Ġgantija. The island is popular amongst divers from all over the world, for hiking, for its rough yet green landscape, or simply for relaxed holidays away from the busy tourist centres of Malta. And cats know that, too.

By conservative estimation, some 350,000 stray cats live on Malta and Gozo. With very little control exercised by official bodies, it is thanks to the initiative and devotion of more than 1,000 individuals who feed the strays daily, provide veterinary support and have them neutered and spayed as young as 4 months (primarily at their own costs!). However, some clever moggies hide too well and do reproduce. Today the cat population in this overdeveloped, sea-locked small nation is stable, if not declining.

For the book Islands of Cats - the humble Stray Cat Carers of the Maltese Islands, 6 of the 22 stray cat carers portrayed were visited in Gozo, namely Żebbuġ, Xlendi, Fontana, Għajnsielem, Qala, and Rabat (former brit. Victoria). While the book highlights the work of the stray cat carers, for this post, the stray cats of Gozo are the stars, photographed at around feeding time during the winter months. Enjoy the view.

Amazon US / Amazon UK / Amazon FR

Cats from Tokyo {Japan}

Cat Cafe てまりのおうち(Temarinoouchi) - Not just a Cat Lovers' Heaven!

Hi everyone,

I should probably start by introducing myself! I am Marc and I am one of the people behind Katzenworld, a blog dedicated to all things to do with cats. Of course part of this is also finding the best cat lover tourist attractions around the globe and as my partner and I like to travel a lot we happen to get to see a number of fun places!

One of these places is the Cat Cafe てまりのおうち Temarinoouchi! This fantastic cat cafe is hidden away in one of the districts of Tokyo and while not the oldest cafe in the country it should certainly be seen as the top cafe of Japan.

The staff in the cafe was welcoming from start to finish and at no point do you feel like they are trying to rush out of the place!

What was the best part of the cafe was the interior design of the place! For those into anime it can only be described as something out of Studio Ghibli, somewhere in between Princess Mononoke and My Neighbour Totoro. :-)

And it wasn't just the decoration for us humans but also the way they made space for the cats through ledges along the walls. A lot of spaces weren't even accessible for humans in order to ensure that the cats had plenty of "alone" time if necessary. Of course, they had strict rules in place to ensure the cats weren't getting annoyed by us visitors, such as washing your hands before entering and not picking up any cats.

While outside toys were allowed in the cafe, outside food was not - the staff did provide snacks to give to the cats (if you are there at the right time) but they want to ensure that cats don't get overweight or fed rubbish.

Now you can't go to a cat cafe without trying their food! The menu was, well, EXTENSIVE, would have loved to try it all but we are only two people. ;) What we did try was amazing, though! And, of course, being in Japan,  the food will be decorated according to the current season in addition to being kitty themed. :-)

If you happen to go to Japan I would highly recommend for you to go here! Directions below:

Cat Cafe てまりのおうち (Cat Cafe – temarinoouchi) 

吉祥寺本町2-13-14 武蔵フォーラムⅢ 3F 

Musashino, Tokyo 180-0004 

Opening hours: 10am to 9pm 

Admission fee: ¥1,200 for week days,¥1,600 for weekends,¥700 for evenings (no restriction on duration of your visit)

1. Take the JR Chuo Line (中央線) to Kichijoji (吉祥寺) 

2. Go to North Exit, cross the street, follow the shop with a huge yellow sign saying “P.S FA”, turn left, and walk straight into the shopping street.

3. Walk all the way to the end of the shopping street, and cross the road. You will see the Tokyu Department Store (東急百貨店) – [Should be on your right side] 

4. Walk along the Tokyu Department store, turn right when you see the shop Tomorrowland. The cat cafe is on your left side once you turn right (look for the cat cafe signage).

Enjoy your stay in the cat cafe :)

(The directions were taken from a fellow Blogger whom you can visit here. This really helped us on our visit!)

Japanese map below: