In the town of Kotor, where cats have become part of local tradition and a living symbol of its squares, narrow streets, courtyards and stone arches, the Italian collector Pierro Pazzi — an expert in Venetian goldsmithing and applied arts from Venice — opened the Cat Museum in the ground floor of the former Monastery of Our Lady of the Angels at the Square of Cinema.
The museum houses around 1,500 different postcards, early cartoline, medals, magazines, comics and books dating back to the 17th century, all dedicated to the theme of cats.
The idea of establishing a museum dedicated to cats was born after a donation from Countess Francesca di Montreale Mantica, consisting of a significant collection of artworks gathered over a long period of time.
These materials, brought together within the collections of the International Cat Adoption Center “Badoer” in Venice, gradually became extensive and highly interesting. Over the last ten years the collection has been further enriched with valuable donated works.
The importance and size of this material inspired the creation of a museum where these items would be accessible not only to visitors — who are certainly numerous — but also to a wider audience who can follow its work online.
The museum goes beyond the theme of cats alone. Through the universal interest in this animal, it aims to raise awareness about respect for nature, animals and the environment, which are increasingly threatened by human activity.
The first display case contains the oldest postcards from Germany and Russia dating from 1872 to 1878. These images depict cats in many forms — as women, children, men, together with famous personalities, especially actresses, and also on postage stamps.
Among the exhibits is the first postage stamp featuring a cat, issued in 1927.
The museum also allows cat lovers around the world to follow its work online. A special service sends a daily email featuring a different photograph from the museum’s collection.
