'Gacek' the black and white feline becomes the top rated tourist attraction in Polish town

Gacek, a large black-and-white cat, has become a popular tourist attraction in the Polish city of Szczecin, with over 1,000 Google reviews giving him a near-perfect rating. Gacek is a free-roaming feline who has been living in a box on Kaszubska street for years. His image was shared on Instagram, and a video about him has received 4.5 million views on Facebook and YouTube.

The Instagram handle 'kotgacekeveryday' shared Gacek's image, and it is pronounced "gats-ek", which means "long-eared bat" in Polish. The handle has 50 posts and describes Gacek as the number one tourist attraction in Szczecin. Some visitors have travelled from around Poland and even from other countries to see Gacek.

A day ago the Instagram page reported that ‘something happened to Gack on GoogleMaps. Disappeared!’.

"We don't know why and how (Google could have considered that the storm of reviews was spam or someone "kind" reported it to be closed). We don't know what's next but it's definitely a little sad. We had none of this but fun and pride. It's even more stupid that the fame has become a bit international and Google has such numbers. If someone knows how to react, react. We have already written to support and to googlepolska tweeter but maybe someone has better plugs. We will appreciate any help." The post added.

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Gacek (@kotgacekeveryday)

Some visitors have shared their experiences of visiting Gacek, with one saying that it was worth traveling three hours to feel ignored by him. Another visitor flew from Oslo to see Gacek and was not disappointed when the cat did not pay attention to them. However, not all visitors were happy, with one expressing a preference for dogs and another claiming that Gacek stole a sausage.

However, there are concerns that he appears to be overweight due to treats provided by visitors, and the city's animal shelter has appealed for people not to feed him. Despite this, Gacek's fame continues to grow, and he has become a beloved local attraction. A sign near Gacek's home requests that anyone who wishes to give him snacks should leave them in a closed packet to be opened by his owner. “I happily pose for pictures, but please don’t stroke me while I’m having a nap,” it added.

According to a blog, Notes From Poland, in 2021, a dog in Gdansk, another city on Poland's Baltic coast, also became a top-rated local tourist attraction on Google by regularly appearing on a balcony. However, the dog was taken down from the service after receiving hundreds of reviews, and the reason for this remains unknown.