Famous feline goes viral, putting Polish city on the map

Record ID: 1714858

  • Title: Famous feline goes viral, putting Polish city on the map
  • Date: 10th March 2023
  • Summary: GDANSK, POLAND (MARCH 8, 2023) (REUTERS) WOMAN LOOKING AT @KOTGACEKEVERYDAY INSTAGRAM FEED
  • Embargoed: 24th March 2023 11:10
  • Keywords: Gacek Poland Szczecin cat fat cat health obesity street cat tourism
  • Location: SZCZECIN AND GDANSK, POLAND
  • City: SZCZECIN AND GDANSK, POLAND
  • Country: Poland
  • Topics: Europe,Human Interest/Brights/Odd News,Society/Social Issues
  • Reuters ID: LVA004453003032023RP1
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: A big black-and-white cat has become an internet sensation and major tourist attraction in the Polish city of Szczecin.
    Word is spreading across Poland about Gacek, who lives in a wooden house on a sidewalk near the city centre.
    “I heard about Gacek from my friends from Warsaw exactly,” Szczecin resident, Aleksandra Jankowska, told Reuters. “They sent me an article about him and here I am!”
    Szczecin Tourist Information Centre employee Szymon Maksymiuk said tourism to the city increased “enormously” since the Gacek frenzy started to take shape, and not just from people in Poland.

    “There was a guy from Norway who took a flight,” Maksymiuk recalled, adding, “he claimed that Gacek really drove him to make the decision of arriving here and sightsee(ing) the city.”
    Speaking to Reuters, Mongolian student Kherlen said, “I came to the city like the day before yesterday and I'm looking for that cat named Gacek. It was really cute and my friend told me about it, so I hope I will find the cat, maybe today, maybe tomorrow.”
    The famous feline's address is Szczecin’s most highly rated tourist attraction on Google Maps. Having received scores of five-star reviews, his Kaszubska Street pin has beaten sights including a Pomeranian Dukes’ Castle to the top spot.
    While some fans attribute Gacek’s fame to his confidence and cute face, others say it’s his celebrity status that is attracting visitors. Footage accompanied by the Gacek hashtag receives high levels of engagement on TikTok and Instagram. While a video posted on February 17 by @pomorzezachodnie, the official TikTok account for the Western Pomerania region where Szczecin is located, has received over 90,000 likes, an Instagram account dedicated to the cat boasts over 20,000 followers.

    A woman who owns a shop on Kaszubska Street cares for Gacek and feeds him raw meat. She puts a hot water bottle beside him when temperatures are low and takes him inside if heavy rain starts to fall.

    Yet despite her attentiveness, there are concerns Gacek is starting to look quite “chonky”, as passers-by disregard the sign above his house imploring people not to feed him.
    Admitting the cat is “already a little bit overweight,” the manager and main vet at the Szczecin Society for the Care of Animals, Pawel Niejadlik, told Reuters, “Obesity in cats comes with a lot of potential side effects.”

    “A lot of weight puts a lot of strain on the muscular skeletal system, on the joints, the joints hurt, osteoarthritis may develop. There is also a risk of cardiovascular diseases, heart diseases, diabetes,” he added.
    Nevertheless, many residents say they are pleased to have a feline celebrity call their city home. Grzegorz Warcholak, who was born and raised in Szczecin, told Reuters, “He’s so famous in the world so we can be proud of the cat who is living here."
    (Production: Francesca Halliwell, Lynne Schoeman)
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2023. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: Footage contains computer game or software screenshots. User is responsible for obtaining additional clearances before publishing this clip.
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