De Poezenboot

Perfect place to visit if your a cat person. Great place to escape the hustle & bustle of Amsterdam. Non profit shelter boat moored on the Singel canal minutes from Central Station. Staff are friendly and petting & playing are encouraged. It is a rather small but busy venue. It's free but highly recommend making a donation. Also, make a reservation online beforehand as the walk in line can get fairly large and you may not get in. Hours are limited. Gift shop has some nice cat orientated items.

SO WONDERFUL. These sweet kitties have had a rough time but now they have a safe space to heal and be adopted. The cat boat is a beautiful organization and one of the highlights of our trip. There was a short line to get in. They allow 6pp at a time in the boat as it is small. Each group gets 15 min: the volunteers were very kind and efficient. Thank you!

I loved seeing the cats! Some cats were roaming (presumably those more comfortable with being stroked) and others were in their pens. I was a little concerned that the pens were on the small side. We joined the queue at 12.45 and were the 11th and 12th people in line. They let 6 people in at once, so we were on the boat at 1.15 until 1.30. It’s great to see the cats and worth queuing if you’re a cat lover and you’re there early, but I personally wouldn’t have queued longer. I’m sure some of the people I saw waiting wouldn’t have made it in.

As they make quite clear on the website, this is NOT a petting zoo. That said, it’s an amazing cat shelter run by wonderful volunteers who deeply care about the cats. The visiting hours are meant to meet the cats for people who might want to adopt a cat. But also for people who would like to calmly look at cats. The opening hours are limited, so that the cats won’t get stressed out and still have a calm space. Absolutely amazing place and please donate whatever you can.

A wonderful stop when exploring Amsterdam. It was probably the highlight of my day! I wanted to fly the white cat home with me 😭 I got there about 30 min early after reading other reviews and had no problem getting in with a small wait after it opened. It looks like they are trialing first come first serve now vs reservations. Adding some combination of film and iPhone pics I took!

This place is amazing. What a wonderful sanctuary and rescue for cats. Bear in mind this is only open 3 days a week and for 2 hours. 1pm-3pm. There are queues too, so get there early or you won't get in. We were last in, so didn't get as much time as we would've liked but it was lovely. Staff are amazing. And please, if you like it and love cats, make a donation! Apparently most don't!

I recommend arriving earlier than opening time. We arrived an hour before opening and only just made it inside. People a couple groups behind were told they would likely not get in (and didn’t). If you are an absolute cat obsessed person then I would recommend this experience but for those just looking for something to do and like cats as much as the average person - unless you would wait in line for at least 1 and a half hours to pet some cats, I would not deem it worthwhile given the wait time and chance of missing out. The cats I must say were cute and it was a nice experience that I’m grateful to have had despite the wait.

“This was one of the places I truly intended to visit. I didn’t book a ticket in advance, so I had to wait in line for about 40 minutes, but it was absolutely worth it. The organization was excellent and everything was very clean.”

De Poezenboot (The Cat Boat) in Amsterdam is a unique spot for cat lovers. It's a floating animal shelter located on a houseboat along the city's canals. The boat provides a safe haven for stray and abandoned cats, offering them a peaceful environment to roam and find new homes. We were not able to book a time since it was full; luckily we heard that there was an adoption event going on and were able to visit.

What a sweet place to visit if you love cats. I got the feeling they really care for the cats that live there full time and do a good job of getting others rehoused. They do except donations.

The most amazing, incredible, fantastic, beautiful , heart warming experience I have ever had. There are resident cats at this rescue and cats for adoption the residents walk around for purs and pets. The adoptable are in nice kennels. They have cats with disabilities and take care of their medical needs they had a tripod and a kitty with no eye which is close to my heart because my cat has only one eye. The two ladies running it are just such pure and sweet souls. They love what they do and love these cats. They also have a cute merch shop and you can donate to help the kitties. The hours are slim but we made it in with no reservations! I love this place I would live here if I could and if I lived in Amsterdam I would try to volunteer here. It's the best.

De Poezenboot is a cat boat where rescue & stray cats/kittens, and people who can't take care of their cats drop off the cute furry babies off etc. It's weird I'm not a cat or dog person but then taking care of my sisters cat (3 years old) and our 20 year old cutie (Choti).... I've realized I miss my furry baby a lot on vacation. Solution- finding rescue places or cat cafes etc. Well finding a cat boat in Amsterdam was amazing. This place is pretty awesome because they have been open for over 50 years. They are based off of donations so please contribute when you visit. Many cats are permanent residents of this boat but some are up for adoption if your local. The employees are super nice and answer any questions. Side Note- They have a note for which cat might scratch or be aggressive. Well victory- that sour baby didn't scratch me when I pet him. Guess cats think of me as a cat person.... Helpful note- Book online for a time slot, they get busy and are only open 1PM-3PM -5 out of 7 days

An adorable cat-filled boat. What more do you need to know? I did not have the chance to make a reservation for this place, but I showed up anyway hoping they might be able to squeeze me in. The woman at the front was so kind and let me in, and it was such a treat to see all the cute cats there. I don't live in Amsterdam so had no intention of adopting, but I did buy some merch on the way out.

Must visit place for any cat lover! What a great concept for an animal shelter. All run from donations, so please bring some cash and purchase something in their small shop to support their awesome organization. Meow!

You must come if you're a cat lover! My Lonely Planet guidebook said that the shelter houses 40 cats, but there were only about 20 when I visited. Some of the cats were in the cages, and some were out and about. Most of them were pretty mean and vicious though; if you try to pet them they might run away or bite you. Some of them were pretty nice. Admission is free but they welcome donations.

Hello My name is askar I living in Amsterdam central I wold like to adopt one cat it's its possible Thank you

This was such a lovely little place. The people who worked here are so sweet, and just amazing human beings. There was an injured pigeon and four people were fussing over its health. It's really nice to see. And the kitties are all so adorable! The vampire kitty was the sweetest of them all! =D

As far as free things go, there's nothing better in the world than a boat in Amsterdam full of stray cats. Because, in case you didn't get it: it's a frickin' boat. In Amsterdam. Full of stray cats.

If you love cats and happen to be in Amsterdam, don't miss this one. It's a floating cat-shelter! Entrance is free, or you could donate how much you feel like and the money would go to the cats. There are some cats that are permanently live here, so they are not adopted out, but they also have cats in cages that are looking for new home, so if you live in Amsterdam and want a cat, don't shop but adopt from here - I see some kittens as well. The opening hours might be limited, but that's because they don't want the cats to be upset as they just let people in without limitation. Most cats are docile and enjoy pets / attention but there is one (that we were warned not to touch) that is rather angry all the time.

Are you a crazy cat lady? Do you find yourself wondering why there are no cats in your hotel room, knocking your water glass off the nightstand? Did you hug your cat a little too long to say goodbye when leaving for Amsterdam? Well, step right up to the Poezenboot. This little delight of an animal shelter is on a boat and it is worth a visit. There are adorable drawings of the cat- please do yourself a favor and when you see the cat described as "angry- no touch!" make sure that you heed the warning. He is angry! But the others are adorable and friendly. Be a good person and make a donation while you are there too. They do great work for needy kitties and for cat ladies in need of a cat hug while on vacation.

The cat boat was so cute. It's basically a rescue on the water. You might have. Little wait on the street as there can only be so many people on it at a time but not too long. Inside there are a bunch of cats just chillin and playing. Fun place to stop off for 15-20 minutes when you're in Amsterdam.

I was in crazy cat lady heaven! What a wonderful place and wonderful cause! Give them all of your money! They are strictly donation funded so every little bit helps in the care of feeding of these sweet kitties. They also do all they can to find them homes and won't separate partnered pairs. I really loved visiting this place! A unique attraction for sure!

Get your kitty fix here! There were 7 people ahead of us in line, we had to wait about 25 mins for our turn. Once in, it seemed you could stay for as long as you wanted. Lots of cats sleeping, lounging in the sun, grooming, and some hanging out in cages. The interior space was smaller than I expected. The volunteers were friendly and informative. I bought a t-shirt. They also accept donations but aren't pushy about it.

Dit is een prachtige plek! Let me start by pointing out I am not a big cat person, but I love this place. When I am here the old proverb "Those who dislike cats will be carried to the cemetery in the rain." Echoes in my mind. So I quickly had rethink my attitude when I arrived It's a little hidden gem along the canal that you may miss and unless it is on your agenda and you are looking for it. The staff is very friendly, even to the tourists. The boat was also extremely sanitary. It didn't have that awful animal shelter like smell of urine and bleach with the element of sadness and abandonment. I brought along some treats and catnip for the kitties. The kitties were all very well fed and not too interested in the treats. I broke out my secret weapon,the catnip. I quickly had a more than a few around me that were interested. The catnip made me "the cats meow" with the moggies. The staff was also nice and took the leftover food,treats and cat nip toys I had brought with me from home. Most of the cats are very friendly. Although there were a couple cute "mugshots" of the not so friendly cats. The not so friendly cats still were not a match compared to my Nana's evil fat kitty back home. ;) There's no fee for entering but I donation is definitely the courage and a sweet thing to do. There's also a gift shop where I'm sure most of the proceeds go towards supporting the boat and it's Kitty crew. I would definitely recommend this to any animal lover.

The wonderfully quirky "CatBoat" is home to lots of cats that are both looking for homes or who are being taken care of because they aren't able to be placed. They take donations and are in need of volunteers! The hours that you can drop in for a visit are very short (1pm -3pm most days), so make sure you plan accordingly!

Awesome place to check out for a few minutes if you're in the center (e.g. if you've been having breakfast at Greenwoods across the street like we did). Just a big room of cats and a relaxed staff. It's like going to the cat cafe but with fewer rules ;) Obviously also you can adopt the cat you fall in love with. They are all amazing.

I like to stop by sometimes because I really love the cats and I love the boats and this is a combination of 2 of my favorite things, plus they're doing good work helping the cats. It is a wonderful place to visit, and even better if you can donate or volunteer. It is also a good place to adopt a best friend :) It is truly unique.