All is calm and beautiful within the Kopjes Cat Cafe in Amsterdam. The eight resident cats are lolling about in centrally heated luxurious.
They lounge in cat beds, hearken to the mild strains of Van Morrison’s Brown Eyed Girl, yawn, stretch, sometimes bicker, nibble on a little bit of kibble. And then lie again to be entertained by the regular stream of holiday makers who’ve paid 5 euros simply to hang around with them.
‘It’s very calming. It’s fantastic. Last night time we watched a really miserable movie, so I wanted cheering up,’ says Renee, right here along with her husband Paul, for his or her first go to.
Tereza, 19, on a romantic minibreak with boyfriend Joe, 21, from Manchester, is right here as a result of she’s lacking her cats at home.
And additionally as a result of, on TikTok, it appeared a lot better than Anne Frank’s home. ‘Twenty-five euros appeared lots to have a look at a room in an empty home,’ she says. ‘But that is superb. The Dutch appear to essentially, actually love their cats.’
She’s proper. As properly as this cat cafe — nonetheless going nice weapons after almost 9 years — there’s a cat museum (Kattenkabinet) full with cat-themed artistic endeavors by Rembrandt, Picasso and Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, and a cat boat (De Poezenboot) — which describes itself because the ‘solely floating cat sanctuary on the planet’.
There can also be a clutch of cat retailers promoting something from cat coasters to flea powder; quite a lot of pubs with resident cats poised for petting; and never forgetting Cinemeow, the cat-themed movie competition. The entire place is completely cat-tastic.
Gaze up at just about any sun-drenched window within the metropolis and you will probably see a feline buddy, mendacity in splendour and taking in the great thing about the Seventeenth-century canal system. And probably additionally, proper now, feeling relatively aggrieved. For life on this metropolis is about to vary for cats.
If the Municipality of Amsterdam has its means, quickly all cats will likely be required to put on bells on their collars once they enterprise outdoors — to provide birds and different wildlife a good probability once they’re on their nightly killing sprees.
The plan is a part of a brand new agenda to make sure the capital stays an ‘animal-friendly’ metropolis. On the face of it, it sounds not simply neat, low cost and easy, but additionally relatively ingenious.
Surely even the craftiest cat would wrestle to sneak up on a teeny robin when it is jingling and jangling with each step?
Experts declare that, if all roaming cats right here saved their bells on, the variety of fowl deaths may fall by between 35 and 50 per cent. Given Dutch cats kill 18 million birds a yr (in addition to mice and different rodents), that is a hell of quite a lot of birds.
‘Something must be accomplished,’ says Roel van Dijk, a European legislation knowledgeable, who co-founded the motion group Huiskat Thuiskat (House Cats Go Home) in 2022.
‘Why ought to cats be any totally different to dogs? Owners ought to by no means let their pets kill protected animals and, in the event that they exit, they need to be on leashes.’
A cat, on a lead?!
But earlier than we dismiss all this as Dutch eccentricity, the scenario is simply as dangerous within the UK. Quite probably, it is worse.
A recent research revealed as much as 75 million birds and small mammals are killed by cats within the UK yearly.
Globally, their influence on wildlife is catastrophic — killing billions of animals from greater than 2,000 wild species, many vulnerable or endangered.
The daft factor is that almost all home cats aren’t even hungry. They simply kill as a result of it is of their blood. And as a result of they will — these cats, that’s, allowed to slink out and in at any time when they select, like unsupervised youngsters.
Also, quite a lot of them are bored mindless hanging about on sofas all day (we’ll come to that later).
All of which implies the remainder of the world — notably the cat-loving nations — is fastidiously watching Holland, to see how issues unfold on the feline entrance.
Over recent years, the variety of cats within the Netherlands has rocketed as house owners view them a better, cheaper different to dogs.
The Dutch have three million cats (with greater than 250,000 in Amsterdam), outnumbering dogs for the primary time. And tensions are building between cat lovers and loathers, who name them ‘mass murderers’.
Things actually took off, although, in 2019, when two attorneys from Tilburg University within the Netherlands revealed a paper stating it was unlawful to permit cats outdoor unsupervised, as a result of they have been killing tens of millions of birds — in contravention of the European Birds and Habitats Directives.
Legally, they have been right, however nobody had any curiosity in implementing the legislation. Not the fowl organisations, nor the federal government — presumably as a result of one in 4 Dutch folks have a cat.
‘There was an avalanche of publicity,’ says Roel. ‘Cats must be managed. But nothing actually modified.’ So he acquired concerned, hoping in the future for a ban on the free-roaming of cats altogether.
Not, he assures me, as a result of he would not like cats. In reality, he and his spouse and young daughter are planning on getting a cat quickly (indoor solely, or with access to an enclosed balcony). He simply desires Holland’s birds to be secure.
He additionally insists that there isn’t a connection between his vigorous campaigning and the unhappy loss when he was a boy of his pet parrot, Jari (named after Finish footballing famous person, Jari Litmanen), devoured up by a free-roaming cat when he left the aviary door open.
‘I do know a psychologist would have one thing to say, however that is separate,’ he says firmly.
The bells suggestion, even when it falls in need of Roel’s most popular ‘cats at home’ coverage, has acquired the controversy going. ‘It is superb simply to have the federal government lastly specializing in it,’ he says.
‘Revolutionary even!’ Roel shouldn’t be the one person right here to carry robust views. As I wander the streets and cease and chat, evidently nobody is wishy-washy of their opinion. Some need all strays euthanised. One chap desires cats banned from town.
Meanwhile, the volunteers at De Poezenboot dedicate their lives to caring for cats, and the women behind the desk within the Kattenkabinet are horrified on the considered their cats ever leaving the rarefied environment. ‘Oh no, by no means — far too harmful!’
Back within the cat cafe, Tereza would not actually perceive the bells-on-collars initiative.
‘A cat’s a cat. They hunt, they kill birds. That’s simply what they do. Always have, all the time will,’ she says as she sips her latte.
Later, I communicate to Liesbeth Puts, a cat knowledgeable, behaviourist and creator of The Handbook For A Happy Cat, who additionally has no truck with the bell.
She tells of a analysis survey that claimed bells do not work. ‘They did nothing in any respect to affect the looking behaviour. Apparently, they did not even alert the prey,’ she says.
‘How would the fowl even understand it was harmful?’ she says. ‘Most small birds do not stay lengthy sufficient to even begin to study from previous behaviour.’
Fair level. It took wild birds tens of millions of years to adapt to take care of native predators such because the sparrowhawk or peregrine. Cats have solely been domesticated for a couple of thousand years, so the birds are nonetheless a good distance from having the ability to maintain their very own.
But Liesbeth is simply as upset about the truth that, what with all this discuss defending birds, nobody appears to have stopped to think about the psychological impact on the cat.
‘Their listening to is much extra delicate than a human’s. Can you think about the noise? It may drive you loopy!’
I can definitely see a cat could not need a bell spherical its neck. And judging by a fast straw ballot of cat-owning mates within the UK who’ve tried bells, it appears their pets may not all play ball.
My colleague Andrew tells me his cat Rosie merely removes her collar and dumps it within the backyard. Jessica’s Madame Jo-Jo throws an enormous tantrum and meows till it is eliminated.
Paul’s Fanta dumps the identical variety of ‘treats’ on his doormat, bell or no bell. Ringo, from down the highway, has merely vanished in disgust.
Maybe the Amsterdam authorities may have appeared a bit additional, as there are options to a bell.
Liesbeth suggests {that a} multicoloured puffy collar referred to as the Birdsbesafe — a bit like an Seventeenth-century ruff — is a a lot better answer.
But sadly, none look like readily available in Holland, in order that’s not a lot assist.
In the Dierenwinkel Amsterdam pet store, the place most collars on sale already include bells hooked up, resident cat Eazy is prowling round in a five-metre perimeter of his basket, on a protracted leash.
‘It’s not secure. Roaming cats are vulnerable,’ says the young chap behind the counter. ‘Our final cat was run over two years in the past.’
And that’s absolutely a giant incentive to cat house owners. A roaming cat has a life expectancy of precisely half that of a home cat. It is harmful on the market, and never only for the birds.
So, what’s the answer — hold them cooped up inside? Won’t they be bored mindless?
Not all of them will likely be, says Liesbeth, if house owners study to take care of them correctly. ‘Cats are usually not as aloof and unbiased as folks suppose — they crave love and a spotlight.
They want psychological stimulation and quite a lot of play. When cats play, neural transmitters within the mind produce dopamine and that makes them really feel good.’
And, apparently, makes them much less more likely to wish to exit killing.
Which all is sensible within the Kopjes cat cafe, the place the inmates — all rescue cats, who can’t consider their luck — lounge round like lords. They have no real interest in the nice outdoor.
And why on earth would they? They have every little thing they may probably need — firm, leisure, stimulation. And no want to pounce on something extra thrilling than a little bit of kibble.
