Sanctuary Amsterdam, Netherlands
Cats in De Poezenboot
A cat sanctuary on a barge on the Singel canal, since 1966, open three afternoons a week, free, with up to fifty cats aboard and an adoption desk. The only floating cat shelter in the world, and a ten-minute walk from Centraal.
Where to find cats in De Poezenboot: Singel 38G, a barge moored on the Singel canal near the Haarlemmersluis, ten minutes on foot from Centraal station. When: Tuesday, Friday and Saturday, one to three in the afternoon. That is all. Check the site before you walk over. Why here: Fifty cats on a boat, since 1966, because one woman on this canal could not stop taking in strays.
The short version
- Where
- Singel 38G, a barge moored on the Singel canal near the Haarlemmersluis, ten minutes on foot from Centraal station
- When
- Tuesday, Friday and Saturday, one to three in the afternoon. That is all. Check the site before you walk over
- How long
- Half an hour. It is a barge. Longer if you are thinking about adopting
- What it costs
- Free. It is a charity that gets no public money, and the box by the door is how it floats
- Why here
- Fifty cats on a boat, since 1966, because one woman on this canal could not stop taking in strays
What to bring
- A Tuesday, Friday or SaturdayOne to three in the afternoon, and that is the entire week. The rest of the time it is a working shelter with the door shut.
- Euros for the boxThe boat is financed entirely by donations. It takes in up to 250 cats a year on what visitors leave.
- An honest answer to whether you could adoptMost of the cats are looking for a home. They rehome within the Netherlands, properly, with a process.
- Patience on the gangwayA barge is small. In summer there is a queue on the canal side and they let people on a few at a time.
Why there are cats everywhere
In 1966 Henriette van Weelde took in a stray cat, and then another, and then bought a boat.
She lived on the Singel, one of the old ring canals of central Amsterdam, and the strays kept coming. When the house was full she bought a houseboat and put the cats on it, and when that was full she bought a second, a proper barge, fitted out for cats. The Poezenboot, the cat boat, has been moored on the Singel ever since, and it is the only floating animal sanctuary anyone knows of.
It takes in up to 250 cats a year: strays, abandoned cats, cats whose owners have died. Up to fifty live aboard at a time, in a long cabin of pens and climbing frames and windows onto the canal, looked after by volunteers, and most of them are looking for a home. The boat rehomes within the Netherlands, checks the homes, and takes cats back if it does not work out. It gets no money from the city or the state and never has.
It is open to visitors three afternoons a week, for two hours each, and that is the deal: you can come aboard, meet the cats, put something in the box, and leave, or fill in a form and leave with one. It is small, it is a shelter first and an attraction second, and it is on this list because it is a genuinely good thing that a city with a great many good things has kept going for sixty years.
The walk
From Centraal along the canal to the boat, aboard for half an hour, and then the Jordaan behind it for the rest of the afternoon. It is not a walk so much as an appointment with a barge.
- From Amsterdam CentraalWalk west along the water, then down the Singel10 minFollow the canal, not the map. It is on the east bank just past the Haarlemmersluis.
- From Dam SquareWalk north up the Singel10 minThe canal runs straight up to it. Cross to the east bank at the last bridge.
- From SchipholTrain to Centraal, then walk30 minTwenty minutes on the train, ten on foot. Check the day first; it is only open three.
Centraal to the Singel
Out of the station, west along the water past the Haarlemmersluis, and the Singel opens on the left. Ten minutes. The boat is on the east bank, past the first bridge.
Along the Singel. The barge with the cat on the side is the one.Shadowgate from Novara, ITALY, CC BY 2.0 The gangway
Singel 38G. A short gangway from the quay onto the barge, a door, and the donation box beside it. In summer there is a queue; they take a few people at a time. Put something in the box on the way in.
The gangway. The box is by the door and the box is the budget.Oxyman, CC BY 2.5 Aboard
One long cabin: pens along one side for the cats that are new or recovering, the rest free to wander, windows onto the canal, and volunteers who know every one. Sit on a bench and wait. Somebody will decide about you.
The Poezenboot from the water side. Fifty cats, one barge.Shadowgate from Novara, ITALY, CC BY 2.0 The Jordaan
Off the boat, over the bridge, and into the Jordaan, the old working neighbourhood behind the canals, with its own cats in its own windows. The rest of the afternoon.
Looking back at the boat from the bridge.Oxyman, CC BY 2.5
Same numbers as the list. Worth keeping open on your phone.
The cats you will meet
Up to fifty at a time, all rescued, all looking for a home or recovering before they can. Every colour and age, from kittens in the pens to old cats who have retired aboard. Sociable, on the whole, because the ones who are not are the ones the volunteers keep back.
The adoptables
Wandering the cabin, on the frames, in the windows.
Most of the boat. Ask about any of them and there is a form.
The pen cats
Behind mesh, new or recovering.
Look; do not poke fingers through. They have just arrived.
The residents
Older, in the best spots, not going anywhere.
The ones who could not be rehomed and have retired to the boat.
Everybody says It is a cat cafe.
Actually It is a shelter that lets visitors aboard for six hours a week. There is no coffee, no ticket, and no guarantee of a lap. There is a donation box, a lot of cats, and an adoption form. Go for those.
How not to be the annoying one
- Check the hours. Tuesday, Friday, Saturday, one to three. There is no arguing with a shut barge.
- The box by the door is the budget. Put something in on the way in, not on the way out when you have forgotten.
- Fingers out of the pens. The cats behind mesh are new, ill or frightened.
- It is a shelter, not a cafe. Quiet, no flash, and let the cats come.
- If you want one, say so. They rehome within the Netherlands and they take it seriously.
