A cat thief is thwarted in her attempt to steal one of Poland’s biggest tourist attractions – a chubby cat named Gacek – after she was chased away by the locals.
The woman was caught on camera after trying to grab a celebrity’s 6-year-old moggy in the city of Szczecin.
Seen jumping into a cab after Gacek escaped by hiding under a nearby car, the wannabe catnapper is now being shamed on social media.
The black and white bum named Gacek became world famous after scoring a Google ranking of 5 from reviewers.
Nicknamed ‘the King of Kaszubska’ after the name of the street where he lives, Gacek ranked higher on Google than the city’s more traditional tourist hotspots.
A cat thief is thwarted in her attempt to steal one of Poland’s biggest tourist attractions – a chubby cat named Gacek – after she was chased away by the locals
The woman was caught on camera after trying to grab a celebrity’s 6-year-old moggy in the city of Szczecin
The black and white bum named Gacek became world famous after scoring a Google ranking of 5 from reviewers
Visitors have described the cat as “a rock star,” “the king of the city,” “the greatest of all time,” and “a city icon”
These include the award-winning Philharmonic, the Castle of the Dukes of Pomerania and a network of underground WWII tunnels.
With visitors describing him as “a rock star,” “the king of the city,” “the greatest of all time,” and “a city icon,” local shops even sell bags with his face on them.
After the attempted kit nap, the cat’s caretakers said, “Today we’ll tell you about a pretty unpleasant situation.”
“A certain creature decided to try and steal Gacek a little after 7am on March 20th.
‘Of course it didn’t work. Gacek ran away and hid under a car, the kidnapper also got scared, the situation was witnessed by a trusted person from Gacek’s area. After this, the attempted theft was stopped.’
The message added: “We strongly advise against such attempts. Gacek is being watched by cameras and his human friends, so we hope there won’t be any more stupid ideas like this.
When asked by a fan why they had hidden the woman’s face, the caretakers replied: “We want to prevent problems, but if necessary, we have everything.”
Gacek has now collected more than 3,000 Google user reviews.
Someone calling herself ‘josefita’ posted: ‘best cat ever, very good boy, would 100% recommend. 10/10.’
Another named Fabian Webb wrote, “The best thing I’ve ever seen.”
Meanwhile, Amy Seabold gushed, “Beautiful. Moving. Nice. Pioneering. 10/10, can’t recommend more.’
Another visitor to town suggested that the cat may be getting a little camera-shy.
Ina posted: “Went to Sczeczin and had to meet this chubby cat.
He was friendly, but didn’t want to be photographed. Still. Well worth meeting this native cat. 5 stars of course.’
The cat’s caretakers ended their post on Instagram saying, “Basically, someone tried to steal Gacek. Failed. We strongly advise against this.’
Now a city council member has called on the city’s mayor to make Gacek an “ambassador” for stray cats.
The black and white bum named Gacek became world famous after scoring a Google ranking of 5 from reviewers
Dubbed ‘the king of Kaszubska’ after the name of the street where he lives, Gacek ranked higher on Google than the city’s more traditional tourist hotspots
Now a city council member has called on the city’s mayor to make Gacek (pictured) an “ambassador” for stray cats
In an open letter, Patryk Jaskulski wrote: “I ask for your consideration for the protection and support of cats living freely in our city.
Recently, the popularity of the cat Gacka – a free-living cat who has become an ambassador for other cats living in the wild – has become extremely high and is still growing.
‘Gacek, whether he wanted it or not, became the hero of Szczecin and the name of our city went around the world!
“Kat Gacek gets the chance to become a ‘hero’ of all feral, free-living and homeless cats in our city.
“I’m asking you to think about how you can turn this unexpected success and fame around to benefit other feral cats, of which there are estimated to be tens of thousands in our city.”
He ended the letter by saying, “It is worth noting that from the point of view of the law, the owner of such cats is the state’s treasury, and the obligation to care for these animals lies with the municipality.”
Meanwhile, the town’s animal shelter has expressed concern over Gacek’s ballooning weight.
Attributing the increase to generous passersby giving him snacks, they have begged visitors to stop feeding him and instead put all the “treats” in a basket so they can regulate the amount he eats.