I started coming to the island of Vis, in Croatia, in 2007. Over the years, I’d seen poisoned cats along the side of the road, drowned cats floating in the bay, thin and sickly cats wandering the streets, often with severe eye problems, and eventually became aware of the tragic practice of dumping.
By 2018 I had bought land and a small house on Vis, was spending more and more time there, and felt compelled to do something about the cat problem. There hadn’t been a vet on the island in about 20 years and I couldn’t find any group established to address the problem of unsterilized street cats producing litter after litter of unwanted kittens, so I started something.
Being a graphic designer, I of course designed a logo and built a website for Street Cats of Vis, which is an all-volunteer project dedicated to stabilizing the street cat population on the island through TNR. We maintain and monitor several colonies, provide foster care for the most urgent cases as resources allow, find homes for our fosters whenever possible, and are constantly trying to raise awareness about the plight of street cats.
On May 12, 2021, Vis finally got a vet. Only one day per week, but that’s better than nothing!
If you’re interested in supporting the project, you can find us on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok.
You can also order our annual fundraising calendar via our website: we ship worldwide!
One of my long-term projects is to cultivate a community of land and cat caretakers to occupy a simple, rather rough, tiny house on my land year-round. The land is home to a small cat colony ranging from 15 to 20 in size. We’re not adding to it, unless a cat randomly shows up from the bushes and sticks around, and are trying to get the existing cats adopted. Everyone is healthy and sterilized, but I want people living on the land full-time to care for this colony, as it’s walk-in only, about a 40-minute hike from town, and harder for me to access the older I get. You can read all about it here, and contact me if you’re interested.
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