October the 9th, 2022 - Croatia, particularly down on the coast and in Dalmatia, is full of stray cats. For some, these furry residents of the streets are pests and an unfortunate number of these cats die premature and preventable deaths. For others, they're part of the charm. Makarska stray cats now have five little houses provided for them by the city administration to live and seek shelter in.

The Croatian cat problem is a pressing one. Many locals see them as pests, but visitors tend to feel the opposite, sometimes even adopting a stray kitten and taking them home with them. Thankfully, more and more awareness about the plight of these cats has come to light, and the level of empathy among locals has been on the increase, and Makarska stray cats now have their own carefully placed little houses to call their own.

As Morski writes, last week saw the marking of World Animal Protection Day, and in close cooperation with the Sapa od srca Association and the local communal company, the City of Makarska set up five little houses to act as shelters and homes for Makarska stray cats. A total of fifteen individual cats on Sv. Petra and in Vladimir Nazor Street will now have a safe shelter from the rain and cold in the coming autumn days, as well as from the scorching heat during the summer months.

With this, Makarska has become one of the first cities in all of the Republic of Croatia to take charge and proper care for feral and stray cats in this way, and the project will be continued and expanded if it is deemed necessary. In addition to this praiseworthy and selfless move, in order to reduce the uncontrolled reproduction of Makarska stray cats and prevent the development of diseases in both humans and these animals, the City of Makarska will continue with their planned sterilisation of local cats through a catch, spay and release programme.

The Makarska city budget provides funds for the sterilisation of 100 Makarska stray cats, and this is only a small part of the amount of cash that is now being aimed at properly caring for the welfare of the city's local animals.

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April 9, 2022 - Public cat feeding areas in Zagreb will be defined and managed by the city in an effort to solve the stray cat issue in the capital and protect the animals.

On March 31, the City of Zagreb announced a public call for applications to install cat feeders in public areas managed by the City of Zagreb, which was published on the city's official website.

It is part of an attempt to solve the problem of feeding cats in the city of Zagreb, while implementing such projects seek to protect animals adequately.

The city will announce a public invitation to associations. After the associations are selected, the feeding area locations will be selected and proposed to the Mayor, reads the public invitation.

To find out more about the public feeding areas, Zagreb.Info turned to Damir Skok, director of the Zoo and Dumovec.

"The shelter, in cooperation with the municipal police, will arrange for the sterilization of cats that live on feeding grounds and perform the necessary interventions to control the reproduction of cats.

Cat feeders are a project that tries to provide a dignified life for cats on the streets of Zagreb while limiting their population. Also, wild cats do one important task, and that is to control the population of rodents and rats.

The shelter also provides all the necessary veterinary care to stray cats that are sick, injured, or have their lives endangered. So, whenever a cat from the feeding ground needs treatment, our veterinarians can help it," says Damir Skok.

The first public and legal cat feeder was organized on Radićeva Street, called Miceki, which was created by a group of volunteers, the last of whom was Baka Ana. Unfortunately, like her fellow volunteers who took care of the cats for thirty years, Baka Ana became disabled, so a group of volunteers helped her take care of the cats.

The initiative to take care of cats had grown, and with the support of the Prava šapa association, they sent a request to the city to become a legal public feeding ground. Thus, Miceki received houses, drinking fountains, and even a mural by the famous graffiti artist Slaven Lunar Kosanović.

The cat feeding locations in Zagreb will depend on the local volunteers who will respond to the call published on the City of Zagreb website. 

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Employees of the company Rimac Automobili often feed the stray cats who find their way on the business premises - and to prevent welcoming any new kittens to the bunch, they have taken a stand for their sterilization, reports 24 Sata on May 22, 2019. 

Namely,  Rimac Automobili has announced they would finance the sterilization of any cats that come across their premises, presenting a rare example of cooperation. 

Rimac first contacted Katarina Loborec from the Association Prava šapa, which cares for stray cats. Several days ago, the company asked Loborec and the Association to help them with the stray cats that wandered around the factory, which was an estimated five or six at the time. However, there turned out to be at least a dozen. Since stray cats are not accustomed to people, catching them is anything but easy, so the action is not over yet. It will last until all cats display a marking that they have been sterilized.

“Rimac Automobili keeps a well-arranged area around the premises where the employees feed them and try to catch them. However, as they do not come regularly and do not stay long, on the first run, they were only able to catch three or four of the animals. That's why my colleague Mirna Herman goes there often and, as far as I know, two more cats have been caught in the meantime,” says  Loborec.

Loborec adds that the company's employees are actively involved in the process, and, along with Prava šapa, engineer Ivan Murgas installed a camera and a mechanism to close the door in the distance, allowing the cats to be caught even when the volunteers are not nearby.

“I do not know how Rimac Automobili found out about us and decided to call us. This company is not our donor, but we know that they are a donor of Animal Friends and that Mr. Rimac is a vegetarian and an animal lover. It is an example that can truly be commended because it prevents the possibility of several cats in the area over time, and that wild and abandoned and perhaps even diseased animals wander the streets,” says Katarina Loborec

“They might have been able to catch them, but it would be a problem to get them out, transport them, and bring them to the vet, so our experience would be useful in that,” she adds. 

Rimac Automobili was thankful for the interest of the story but did not want to brag about their actions. 

"A few colleagues from the Department who are closest to the feeding station regularly feed the cats and suggested that sterilization should be done, but we do not think that should be particularly emphasized," says Marta Longin, PR for Rimac Automobili. 

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