De Poezenboot began with a woman taking in a stray mother cat and kittens along Herengracht. When her home filled, she moved the rescue onto a boat, turning Amsterdam’s canal-houseboat culture into a floating shelter for cats.
Guide preview
De Poezenboot began in 1966 when Henriette van Weelde took in a mother cat and kittens she found near a tree opposite her home on Herengracht. More stray cats followed, and the house eventually could not accommodate them all.
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Quick facts
- Henriette van Weelde began caring for a mother cat and kittens in 1966.
- The first Catboat, a Dutch sailing barge, was acquired in 1968.
- De Poezenboot is a sanctuary for stray and abandoned cats.
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