A Cat Named 'Gacek' Becomes Top-Rated Tourist Attraction In Poland

A cat named 'Gacek' has become the top-rated attraction in the Polish city of Szczecin. The black-and-white cat has a perfect five-star rating on Google Maps.

The name Gacek is pronounced as gats-ek which means "long-eared bat" in Polish. According to NZ Herald, Gacek is a free-roaming cat who lives in a box on Kaszubska St.

The feline has beaten the city's other tourist hotspots including a Pomeranian Dukes' Castle built in 1346.

According to a local news outlet wSzczecinie, the feline lives in a wooden box and gets plenty of snacks from passers-by.

According to a blog, Notes From Poland, the cat started drawing attention in 2020. Visitors from neighbouring Germany published a video about the cat on social media which attracted 4.5 million views. Since then, travellers from across the world have travelled to Poland to see the cat.

A visitor wrote, "It was worth travelling three hours to feel ignored by him. Recommended."

Another visitor wrote, "I flew from Oslo with transit in Gdansk to see Gacek. As expected, he didn't pay any attention to me which made the experience fully wholesome."

But not all visitors were happy with the visit. "I prefer dogs, he stole a sausage," wrote another.

A few visitors also expressed concern that the cat appears to be overweight. The city's animal shelter has appealed for people not to feed him, notes the news website Gazeta.pl.

According to the blog, a sign alongside his home asks that if anyone wishes to give Gacek snacks, they should leave them in a closed packet which will then be opened by his owner.