In selfless gesture, Prague woman gives homeless man's kittens a new home

In a spontaneous act of care, a Prague resident and member of the Save the Animals organization gave the man CZK 1,000 in exchange for the baby felines.

Expats.cz Staff

Written by Expats.cz Staff Published on 23.08.2024 16:01:00 (updated on 23.08.2024) Reading time: 3 minutes

A young woman from Prague's Zličín had an unexpected journey on Wednesday afternoon as she was heading to the Anděl metro station. While making her way home from work, she encountered a homeless man releasing several small kittens from a box, begging people for food to feed them. 

Rather than just donating money, Dana Dovhomilja, a make-up artist and animal rights activist, didn't hesitate to take action and bought all the kittens.

At first, the homeless man refused, but after Dovhomilja offered him a CZK 1,000 note, he agreed to hand over the kittens without protest.

Several passers-by watched the whole situation unfold, a few of whom decided to help the woman. "Please, someone call me a taxi, I can't take the subway like this," the new owner of the kittens asked other people. One man then helped Dovhomilja lift the heavy box to the car, where the make-up artist agreed to carry the dirty cage on her lap.

"I'm just after a hard day's work. But I knew right away that I had to save them. That I won't leave them here," Dovhomilja commented on the situation.

Paws to help

According to a Czech media article from 2021, an estimated 1.4 million cats are registered in the whole of the Czech Republic. However, tens and thousands more are undocumented or stray.

There are various ways to help cats in need, giving them a new home. Below are some resources that offer care for cats via adoption and other means.

  • The Pozor Kočka! organization is based around a network of volunteers, some of whom are based in Prague neighborhoods such as Vršovice, Hostivař, or Klecany, as well as the town of Český Brod. Their website has several separate sections, for kittens (up to one year of age), adult cats and tomcats, cats who are in quarantine, and cats that live permanently in their shelters. Some of their staff speak English.
  • Destiny Pet has an English-friendly website, and their philosophy is to put high demands on new owners “because the new home must be better than the temporary one,” and also provide lifelong counselling services once the adoption is complete. The cats that are up for adoption are spayed/neutered, microchipped, dewormed, vaccinated, and tested for common diseases.
  • Cool Critters is based in a countryside farmhouse north of Prague, and run by founder Jaq, who is British, and a group of dedicated friends/volunteers of different nationalities. If you’re interested in giving a home to their cats, fill out an adoption application form (which is in English).
  • With an English-friendly section of their website, Catky.cz also screens potential cat parents through an initial questionnaire (whose answers can be in English) to ensure the best possible match, as some cats might have trouble adapting to families with small children or living in small apartments.
  • The Prague Police runs Útulek Troja, a large animal shelter that has cats for adoption. Adoption of an animal can take place on two levels, either temporary care (for animals that have been in the shelter for less than four months, in case their original owner claims them) or permanent care (for animals that have been in the shelter for more than four months). You need a permanent residency permit to be eligible; while some staff speak English, a basic level of Czech is required for the adoption formalities.
  • You can find more information on the English-version website of the State Veterinary Administration, which contains the full list of registered shelters in the Czech Republic.

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