Two cities in the Netherlands are mounting tiny staircases on the sides of their canals to help cats escape if they fall in the water.
Between the capital of Amsterdam and a smaller city called Amersfoort, there could be over 500 tiny staircases along the canals by the end of the year.
The initiative began when animal welfare group Party for the Animals noted a high number of drowned felines in the Amsterdam canal networks.
Locating a fund worth €100,000 that was currently unutilized in the city’s environment and biodiversity budget, the Party’s leader Judith Krom proposed that it go to funding exit points for cats to use for escaping the canals.
Animal Rights councilor Zita Pels supported the plan, and on July 10th, the Amsterdam City Council voted in favor of Krom’s proposal.
“A simple measure can prevent enormous animal suffering,” Krom said at the time according to the Independent. “The adopted motion demonstrates that as a city, we take responsibility for protecting the lives of animals.”
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The current plan is for the government to work with Dierenambulance Amsterdam, another animal welfare organization, to identify areas where cats fall into canals the most, and build the staircases there.
Amersfoort, 31 miles southeast of Amsterdam, is probably a much better place to go and see the tiny kitty staircases. The municipality currently intends to build “hundreds” every year of these life-saving features.
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This is such a beautiful example of compassion. I hope they’ll post a video of the stairs in use!