7 Fancy Feline Destinations for Cat Lovers ...

Who says cats hate water?! Pay a visit to this one and only houseboat in Amsterdam's picturesque canal belt to see it yourself. This animal sanctuary is a perfect floating shelter for stray and abandoned cats, and is now among the finest tourist destinations for cat lovers. As one of its meowser-mad visitors, you can grab the opportunity to adopt your own sailor cat. When in town, stop by the Katten Kabinet, a museum that highlights a variety of cat-themed artworks from artists like Rembrandt and Picasso.

Pomp and circumstance is usually a staple of dog shows, but no such feelings will surface when you're at the Average Joe Cat Show. Forget about any haughty display of pedigree fluff or any need to have paperwork to prove lineage. All you're going to witness at this no-kill shelter in Arlington is a huge gathering of adorable house cats with some of them begrudgingly dressed to compete for titles such as Loudest Purr, Longest Whiskers, Biggest Feet, Most Talkative, and Most Obnoxious (recognize your moggy in there?). Don't stay content with going online to check photo competition entrants – be a part of this event, as it is best enjoyed up close and in 'purr-son.'

Make the Ernest Hemingway Home and Museum your stop to get up close and personal with "love sponges," as they were called by the author Ernest Hemingway. The author’s most beloved cat was a six-toed Maine Coon named Snowball and today more than 50 of Snowball’s descendants rule the house, fully enjoying their celebrity status and nonchalantly drinking from a stylish urinal Hemingway brought home from his favorite bar, Sloppy Joe.

How many of you actually thought they'd get a chance to visit some place nice where cats would be the primary residents? Welcome to the Island of Tashirojima, commonly known as Cat Island, where felines outnumber people and no one has a problem with that. In recent years, it has become one of the most popular destinations for cat lovers where you can come to photograph the "locals," visit a holy cat shrine, explore cat-shaped monuments, and see buildings adorned creatively with whiskers and pointy ears.

The ancient Egyptian cat worshipers left behind plenty of evidence of their reverence for felines with cat mummies, the Sphinx, the cult of Bastet, and a lot more cat-centric attractions. In those days, cats were the property of the Pharaoh, and it was obligatory for men and women to wear makeup to create cats' eyes. Today, you can see cats roaming the hectic Cairo streets, but the real fun is in checking out cat statues, tomb paintings, and souvenirs. After all the exploration, you may want to adopt a cat. Contact the Egyptian Mau Rescue Organization and they will arrange adoptions of the majestic moggies.

Inle is the second largest lake in Burma and is usually known for its charismatic waters, but interestingly, it's fast becoming one of more popular tourist destinations for cat lovers because you will find tiny, fascinating communities of the Burmese cat all along its shoreline. This breed is near extinction, except in one place where they are making a comeback, i.e., Inthar Heritage House, which is now home to more than 50 pedigree Burmese cats. Take a bus or flight from Bagan, Yangon, or Mandalay, and be there to cuddle the pedigree pussies.

Be the guest at the 'Cat City' or 'Kuching,' as they call it in Malay, and see with your own two eyes the regal treatment cats get in this part of the world. Stop for a few moments to focus on colossal cat statues around the city or buy some nice cat carvings from hawkers in local bazaars. Experience how it feels to place your foot inside the mouth of a huge cat. Don't get nervous; we're just talking about the Cat Museum in Kuching with an entrance like the gaping cat mouth – the museum boasts of a collection of over 2000 artifacts, as well as a mummified cat from Ancient Egypt.

These are the cat’s whiskers among some great destinations for cat lovers. Visit any and you’ll be like the cat that got the cream! Which would be your purr-fect trip?