Several cats that live in the square in front of the Croatian National Theatre (HNK) in the Adriatic city of Split were provided with seven cat houses on Monday, made by theatre workers.

The employees in the HNK decided to make the seven cat boxes out of plywood and to name them after famous romance couples from theatre plays, including those written by local authors.

The cat houses have been given the following names: Romeo, Juliet, Tonci, Marijana and Cicibela and Roko, whereas the main cat house has been named “Bambina”.

The houses were decorated with drawings by theatre artists, and are set up on the lawn outside the theatre.

The ceremony “inaugurating” the houses outside the theatre was organised on Monday morning at a press conference, which was at the same time an opportunity to announce the premiere of the “Bambina” musical.

The general manager of HNK Split, Srecko Sestan, who initiated this humanitarian action of providing the stray cats with accommodation, said today that many tourists visiting Split often took pictures of the cats and of local residents feeding them.

He concluded that it was good to have so many cats around the theatre because that meant that there weren't any mice in the building.