Thanks to Kotor Kitties, more than 8,200 cats in Montenegro have been spayed or neutered since 2018! That's when some Seattle-area tourists, including me, visited Kotor, Montenegro, "the City of Cats", and discovered there were sick, injured, and dying cats everywhere. But there was no ongoing spay-neuter program for cats or dogs. We had an AWESOME OPPORTUNITY to start one!

The Seattle connection is AWESOME because over the past 40+ years Seattle has done an AWESOME job of humanely controlling our dog and cat populations. So we're taking Seattle's knowledge, experience, and program models and adapting them to the needs and culture of Montenegro.

A pioneering Seattle vet, Dr. Christine Wilford, agreed to serve on our Advisory Board and convinced another local feline vet to help as well! A Seattle-area CPA is also on our Advisory Board, and the founding Board of Directors were all based in Seattle--in fact we've been friends since the 1960s! How AWESOME is that!

Kotor Kitties was the first High Quality, High Volume Spay-Neuter (HQHVSN) and Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) program in Montenegro, and only the second in the Balkans. "High Volume" is important to get ahead of the birth rates in areas where we work. TNR allows untouchable cats to be humanely caught.
In addition to providing free or heavily subsidized surgeries, we provide humane education, training and resources for Montenegrin vets, information for government officials, and an important network for the animal caretakers, who were frequently shamed and ostracized, to know they're not alone, and the time, energy and personal funds they devote to the animals is noticed and valued.

Kotor Kitties also provides a substantial boost to Montenegro's struggling economy: we work as partners with local vets, so the funds we raise all stay in the community. The vets give us generous discounts of 50% or more, because they want to be part of the solution. They're AWESOME!!