These are just some of the stories about some of the cats. More cats were taken to vets, but I don’t have photos of them all. Up to thirty cats are fed daily.

I tried to make the stories less graphic and less heartbreaking, but I can’t make them happy-end stories, because it’s a developing every-day process and right now there seem to be no end to it at all. So, please, make sure you are emotionally ready to read these stories.



Pirate is basically the guy who started the whole process. I noticed him in the middle of July. His eye was irreparably damaged. It took me four days to break all previous inner rules and limits and take a street kitten to a vet. I had no place for him after the operation, so we spent seven hours under a palm tree while he was recovering after anesthesia. He had a course of antibiotics afterwards but got ill anyway, and had to go through another course of antibiotics. After he recovered he received all necessary vaccines. I tried to find a home for him, but failed. Pirate still lives near that palm tree. Other cats have joined him. I call them “a palm tree gang”.

Updt: Pirate is no longer a street cat. He is our cat now.



Mitsi is Pirate’s sister. She wasn’t always called this way. She was called “an always scared cat”. When she was tiny, she was so scared she would yell from inside a bush because of her mixed feelings and dilemmas. She wanted to come out and take her food, and yet she was too scared to. The first time she crawled out I tried not to breath. As it always happens with these cats those who are the most frightened in the beginning, later get attached to a human the most. It was on the second day after she allowed me to touch her, when a family took her to live in their garden. They were the ones who gave her the name Mitsi and they were the ones who threw her away, while trying to lie to me that the cat had escaped. I know they lied because when I found the cat and called them to ask if they still needed her (as I had my suspicions) they said “no”. They needed to return to their lovely Luxemburg, their kids had enough of the toy. By that time, Mitsi was vaccinated, microchipped and totally ready for a flight to Luxemburg. I prepared her as those people were considering taking her with them. Maybe it was just another lie. When I found her she was totally stressed. She chased women that looked like the one who threw her away. Then she got trapped on a roof for four days but I found her again. It all happened two months ago. She now lives in a pride not far away from the place where “her” garden was. Some people regularly feed her and others. I often visit those cats too and bring them food and water. Every time I leave she chases me, so I have to give her something tasty to distract her while I’m running away.

Updt:Mitsi has found home.



Osen’ means “Autumn”. She’s one of the “palm tree gang”. The first time I saw her she was yelling in the middle of a little park, refusing to come near or take food from me. Once she was attacked by a large cat. She was really brave, fought back and escaped. When she sees that cat now she tries to beat him up.

Eventually she found her way to the “palm tree place” and joined Pirate in his homeless cat life. Osen’ received only the first part of a vaccine against FVR, FCV, FPV (they are three main cat viruses, two vaccines are needed against them to complete the vaccination). I decided not go on with the vaccination now as cold weather created risks of a vaccine developing into a full-blown desease.

Updt: Osen’ has been neutered.



Chyorniy means “a black one”. It took him about a week to persuade me that he wasn’t going to harm the kittens (Pirate and Osen’) as other grown-up male cats usually do. He would just sit near, and would try to come closer when the kittens played. One day I found them all together and saw he was no danger to the kittens.

Osen’ adores him and he protects them all from dogs and other grown-up cats. People on the street tell me he is a dangerous one as he catches birds. I guess, they thought he was supposed to eat stones until I started feeding him. Chorniy is not vaccinated because the warm weather is over. He’s been cleaned from fleas.



Beliy means “a white one”. He was the first one to receive help thanks to the money raised by Victoria from Neowatercolour blog. Beliy had a wound on his front paw. He was so horribly thin that the wind was pushing him along the street. He also had the worst flea infestation I’ve ever seen. His paw mended. He started putting on weight. That’s when dogs attacked him. It was an indescribable challenge to find a badly needed indoor place for him. He couldn’t stay outside because now he couldn’t walk. I exhausted my phonebook, I offered money, but nobody could take him even for a day, so the first several hours I was simply sitting next to him waiting for a miracle. And the miracle happened. A person, who is usually indifferent to animals, first risked her job to save him and then took him home. It’s not clear now how long she can keep him for. He needs twenty days to recover, today is the fifth one. He visits vets regularly for his antibiotic shots and painkillers. In theory, he needs an operation for his hind paw to recover perfectly, but in practice he can’t undergo it as he has no place to stay in for two months after the operation. Thus, the best that can happen to his paw now is that it recovers with only slight changes.

Updt: Beliy has recovered and became a pet of the family that took him after the attack.



Kisa means “a kitty”. The name was given to her by a vet because there was no time for me to spell Kisa’s real name, which, if translated, means “a little naughty thing”. That’s what Kisa is and always was, apart from a moment when I found her under a bush being not naughty at all. In fact, she didn’t notice either me or food. She was too busy searching for the shortest way to the Rainbow. After she received treatment at the vet, Kisa agreed it probably was too early for the Rainbow. Two days after the visit she was chasing me, demanding treats instead of usual food, just as she always did before she caught the virus. The vet told me then it was a really good luck that I noticed Kisa and brought her to the clinic. Kisa wouldn’t have made it without the treatment. Kisa was saved on the money raised by Victoria from Neowatercolour blog.



Hvostik means “a little tail”. I’ll probably change her name later as it seems a bit cynical to call a cat “a little tail” when her tail is badly damaged and she, indeed, can end up with just “a little tail”.

The very beginning was the hardest. Doctors insisted an urgent operation was needed to amputate the tail. They also insisted it was crucial that the cat stays indoors for the next ten days after the operation. I couldn’t find those ten days indoors for her. Then a miracle happened (I’ve noticed miracles love cats) and very bad processes which were developing in her tail stopped. She still needs the operation, because her tail now is a fragile part which she can’t properly control. Right now, though, the operation is not urgent. I bring her to the vets for her regular antibiotic shots and sprays every three days. At the vet, whenever her tail is examined, she digs her head into my arm and stays still. I don’t know why she trusts me. Doctors say her injuries are most likely man-made. I’ve cut the photo deliberately. I believe not all people can stand the view. Hvostik’s treatment is paid for with the money raised by Victoria from Neowatercolour blog.

Updt: Hvostik was attacked again and lost her tail completely. She was operated and spent two weeks recovering on our balcony. She now feels fine and lives on the streets. I’m very thankful for the vet who gave us a big discount, although he came to operate on Sunday, when the clinic was closed, after I found him at his own home.

A page with general information about homeless cats of Montenegro is here.

A shop which sells products to help homeless cats of Montenegro is here.

An album with more photos of homeless cats of Montenegro is here.

If you have any ideas how to help homeless cats of Montenegro you can contact me on my email sasha.zakharova@gmail.com

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