When people travel abroad, they usually visit cities, historic sites, and popular tourist attractions because these places offer the most information online and are recommended by previous travelers. However, the topic shared today is quite unique: a stray cat has become a notable city attraction in Poland, leaving a deep impression on many visitors.
The protagonist of this story is a cat named Gacek, who lives in Szczecin, Poland's seventh-largest city. Szczecin is a historic medieval port city near the German border and a well-known travel destination with many historic landmarks. For example, it is home to the Renaissance-style Pomeranian Duke's Castle and picturesque city parks, making it an excellent place for in-depth travel experiences.
However, if you ask tourists about their favorite spots in Szczecin, they might not mention these famous landmarks. Instead, the most popular recent photo spot is a stray cat named Gacek, who has settled on Kaszubska Street in Szczecin. Over the past few years, many visitors have deliberately come to see and photograph this cat, turning the area into a well-known online attraction called "Kot Gacek" (Cat Gacek).
Recently, Gacek has become the subject of media reports and is even listed as a place on Google Maps, receiving the highest number of reviews and a perfect five-star rating, making it one of the most talked-about tourist spots online. After becoming an internet celebrity, Gacek has truly become the "little cat king" of the area.
The story of how Gacek came to be here goes back ten years. At that time, Szczecin was already a bustling city. One day, someone noticed a skinny black-and-white cat on the roadside that looked very weak. Local shop owners spontaneously began caring for the cat, and with their help, Gacek regained his health.
Once healthy, Gacek loved to roam around the city and sometimes disappeared for an entire day. He was known to wander all corners of the city and was quite sociable. However, after he went missing for two weeks and was found with signs of being neutered—a fact that remains a mystery—Gacek stopped roaming so much and settled on Kaszubska Street, starting a more relaxed life.
The local businesses and residents are happy to have Gacek around. Shop owners voluntarily take care of him, neighbors and passersby occasionally bring cat food, and someone even built him a small shelter so he wouldn't have to endure the elements. Gacek has become a shared pet for the entire community. Attempts to find him a permanent owner failed because Gacek strongly resisted, suggesting that his free spirit is better suited to street life.
In 2020, a local media report about Gacek attracted widespread attention online. The video of the cat went viral on social media, garnering 4.5 million views, turning Gacek from a street cat into a famous internet star. This newfound fame brought many visitors eager to see him, turning the street into an impromptu fan meeting spot.
With fame came changes—one obvious one was Gacek's weight. Due to the many tourists feeding him out of kindness, he gained a lot of weight. This prompted the community to establish feeding rules: all food must be collected by local shops and distributed by a couple named Mandel who care for Gacek.
Gacek's story doesn't end there. There was an attempted cat theft around 1 a.m., but the residents were prepared with eight surveillance cameras monitoring his shelter, and they successfully prevented the theft. This incident set a precedent, and no one has tried to take Gacek away since.
Today, Gacek is not just a beloved local figure but also a symbol of peaceful coexistence between humans and animals and a unique tourist attraction that has brought new life and attention to Szczecin.
