What if cats could teach us to look at a town differently? In Cres, they lead us to small details we see every day but rarely stop to think about.
The idea for Cats of Cres was created during an IE Certified Interpretive Guide (CIG) course organised by the town of Cres in Croatia. The course included a lot of practical fieldwork, where each participant developed and explored their own interpretive ideas.
The IE trainers noticed something else: I seemed to know almost every cat in the old town by name. One of them asked me, “Why don’t you create a tour about the cats of Cres?” Something immediately clicked.
With their guidance, I developed the idea further, and Cats of Cres became my final course project. This summer, it also became a real interpretive walk in Cres.
But Cats of Cres is not really a tour about cats. The cats are our guides. They experience the town differently from us. They see details we often pass without noticing, hear things we do not hear, and disappear into narrow passages and hidden corners we rarely explore. During the walk, I invite participants to imagine seeing Cres through their eyes.
Instead of focusing on the town’s most obvious landmarks, we stop at small details that are always there, but that we rarely consider important. A fragment of old street paving tells us how people once moved through the town. A symbol on a façade introduces a noble family. Even the terrace of a café reveals a piece of the town’s history.
At the beginning of the walk, participants receive cat ears. It is a playful invitation to become cats themselves for a while: to slow down, observe, listen and look more carefully. Participation is an important part of the experience. We observe, exchange ideas and discover the stories together.
The real cats of Cres are an important part of the experience too. They are friendly, used to people and regularly spend time around the old town, so we often meet them during the walk. Guests also receive a few cat treats, which makes these encounters especially fun for children. They can offer the cats a treat, pet them and get to know some of their names and personalities. Some cats have owners and some do not, but they are all part of everyday life in the town. Of course, there is never a guarantee that a particular cat will appear – they are cats, after all.
My hope is that after the walk participants will continue looking differently – not only at Cres, but at other places they visit. Perhaps they will notice a small detail they would previously have passed by, or see a cat disappearing around a corner and wonder: What would that cat show me if I followed it?
I would love Cats of Cres to inspire interpreters elsewhere to find their own cats, small details and local stories. Every town has a different story to tell.
Dunja Sladić is a licensed tourist and hiking guide and heritage interpreter from Cres, Croatia. Through her tour agency, Cres Fun & More, she creates local experiences connecting visitors with the island’s heritage, traditions and everyday life. She can be contacted at: info@cres-fun.com.
