With a nearly perfect 4.9 out of 5 stars out of thousands of Google reviews, Gacek — an overweight black-and-white street cat — is the top-rated tourist attraction in the Polish city of Szczecin. The medieval city in northwestern Poland has plenty to offer visitors. The Pomeranian Duke’s Castle and Kasprowicza Park are two of its most popular tourist attractions, but when it comes to online reviews, both pale in comparison to Gacek. The tuxedo cat rose to fame in 2020 after a local news site featured the feline in a video that went viral on social media. People have been showering Gacek with positive reviews ever since. According to a local woman, Gacek first appeared on Kaszubska Street in downtown Szczecin about 10 years ago. Many people began feeding him, which soon turned him into a chunky boy, making him even more adorable. Gacek — whose name means “long-eared bat” in Polish — has nearly 2,600 reviews on Google, with most awarding him 5 stars. Most of those who have interacted with Gacek claim he’s a “fantastically handsome and superb fellow,” but there are a few who complained that he scratched them when stealing their sausages. Clearly, they don’t understand that you never come between a cat and its food.
