Sofie's-Art Studio

29/03/2026

29/03/2026

In 1966, a woman named Henriette van Weelde found a mother cat and her kittens sheltering under a tree beside an Amsterdam canal. She took them home.

Then another stray arrived. Then another. People started hearing about the cat lady on the Herengracht and began bringing her cats they could no longer keep.

Soon her entire home was full.

Most people would have stopped. Henriette looked out her window at the houseboats on the canal and thought: why not?

In 1968 she bought an old Dutch sailing barge, stripped the interior, and moved the cats in. The world's first floating cat sanctuary had begun.

The Catboat Foundation was officially registered in 1987. Henriette passed away on May 21, 2005, at the age of 90, still devoted to her cats until the end. Her close friend Judith carried on the work.

Today De Poezenboot still floats on the Singel canal in Amsterdam. Up to 250 rescued cats pass through its doors every year. Entry is free. It runs entirely on donations.

One woman found a cat under a tree. 58 years of lives saved followed.

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