Amsterdam councillors have voted to spend up to €100,000 installing special steps along city centre canals in an effort to save cats and another animals which fall in the water, the Parool reported this week.

So far this year, 19 cats are known to have drowned in the city’s canals because they are unable to climb out, a statistic which prompted the local pro-animal party PvdD to propose the plan.

In June Amersfoort announced it was installing 300 flights of steps along its waterways to help wildlife escape a watery death. Now Amsterdam has agreed to ask the animal welfare organisation Dierenambulance to identify where cats are most likely to drown and where the steps should be put in place.

According to the Parool, the city’s animal welfare chief Zita Pels was in favour of the idea but rejected it because of the lack of cash. The PvdD managed to identify a €100,000 fund in her budget which had been reserved for FUPs, or fauna exit points, and now the project has the go-ahead.

Cats often end up in the water because they are startled, Maggie Ruitenberg from cat expertise centre Katten Kenniscentrum told the Volkskrant.

While cats can swim, they tire quickly because their fur gets heavy. “A ladder can really save their life, as long as there are enough of them,” she said.

Statistics also suggest some 14 people a year drown in the Dutch capital’s canals by accident. Between 2014 and 2024, 142 people drowned in Amsterdam, many of them foreign tourists who fell into the canals when drunk or high.

Canal sides in the city which have been renewed are fitted with special ledges people can hang onto if they end up in the water and can’t get out.