If you ever find yourself in Szczecin, a mid-sized city in northwestern Poland that dates back to medieval times, you’ll also find plenty to do: Visit a castle or an ancient cathedral, stroll along the Oder River or perhaps check out the National Museum.
But one of the best things to do in Szczecin, according to travelers on Google, is to say hello to Gacek the cat.
Gacek, a scruffy, black-and-white tuxedo cat is named after a long-eared bat. He lives in a little box-like cat house on Kaszubska Street.
Though he seems to be a street cat, Gacek appears well-fed — probably the result of his many admirers. They often stop by to give him a treat despite admonitions from a local shelter and a sign saying to leave food in packets that his owner can open for him, according to the New Zealand Herald (though it’s unclear who that owner is).
Until recently, his location was marked on Google Maps, and enthusiastic cat-lovers stopped by to visit.
According to the blog Notes from Poland, Gacek accumulated more than 2,500 Google reviews from his guests. And his average rating was 4.9 out of 5 stars! Disney World, with 4.7 stars, doesn’t even get this much love.
Google reviews, snagged by Mental Floss before Gacek’s location was removed, were often short and sweet. A week ago, visitor Marianna Kaźmierczak wrote, “Good cat for a nice evening or even afternoon.” Five stars, naturally.
And a year ago, Tomek Wilk posted, “As expected, he didn’t pay any attention to me which made the experience fully wholesome."
Google user SE CF also raved, “Fantastically handsome and superb fellow, Gacek graced us with his presence. We were humbly in awe of His Magnificence.” Another five stars, of course.
One of Gacek’s admirers even elevated him to hero status: “He saved my marriage and cured my sick child, one time he saved my dear aunt from [a] burning building,” wrote Ola Studnicka. “Also he helped me move when I lost my house due to economic depression.”
Amazing! We hope he got a lot of treats for all that.
At the moment, unfortunately, it appears that Gacek’s exact location and the reviews are gone. To be fair, Kaszubska Street looks like a pretty quiet area, and neighbors may have gotten annoyed by the extra attention. But there are other reasons Google might have removed the listing as well — if the reviews somehow violated their policies or laws, for example.
Gacek is probably still there, though, awaiting admirers. Let us know if you find him, in all his glory!
Originally published by Kathleen St. John on Simplemost.com.
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