The Turkish city of

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

hosts a sizeable

feral cat A feral cat or a stray cat is an unowned domestic cat (''Felis catus'') that lives outdoors and avoids human contact; it does not allow itself to be handled or touched, and usually remains hidden from humans. Feral cats may breed over dozens ...

( Turkish: ''sokak kedisi'', "street cat") population, with estimates ranging from a hundred thousand to over a million stray cats. Many Turkish citizens view street animals as communally owned pets rather than traditional strays, and the country has a blanket no-kill, no-capture policy.

History

According to Ayşe Sabuncu from Cats of Istanbul the wide prevalence of cats in the city can be connected back to Ottoman times. The vast majority of Istanbul's houses were made of wood, which gave shelter and enabled the proliferation of the mouse and rat populations. This made cats' presence a necessity in the city. Various media sources connected the positive attitude towards cats in Turkey to

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

(see

Islam and cats The cat is considered "the quintessential pet" by many Muslims, and is admired for its cleanliness. Unlike many other animals, such as dogs, Islamic Law considers cats ritually pure and that cats possess barakah (blessings), and allows cats to ...

), the most prevalent faith in the country.

Health

A 2011 study that examined tapeworm infections in stray animals of Istanbul found that 4.65% of the examined cats had '' Joyeuxiella pasqualei'' infections.

Feline immunodeficiency virus Feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) is a lentivirus that affects cats worldwide and 2.5% to 4.4% of felines are infected. FIV was first isolated in 1986, by Niels C. Pedersen and Janet K. Yamamoto at the UC Davis School of Veterinary Med ...

and

feline leukemia virus Feline leukemia virus (FeLV) is a retrovirus that infects cats. FeLV can be transmitted from infected cats when the transfer of saliva or nasal secretions is involved. If not defeated by the animal's immune system, the virus weakens the cat's im ...

were found to be common among outdoor and stray cats. Although stray cats can be a vector for

rabies Rabies is a viral disease that causes encephalitis in humans and other mammals. It was historically referred to as hydrophobia ("fear of water") because its victims panic when offered liquids to drink. Early symptoms can include fever and abn ...

, out of all 21 rabies cases in Turkey documented between 2000 and 2014, none were through a contact between cats and humans. Public feeding of cats by the locals has been criticized by several veterinarians. A 2015 paper published by

Rutgers University Rutgers University ( ), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of three campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's C ...

academics stated that collective feeding attracts and leads to concentration of animals to a specific area, which in turn facilitates the transmission of certain diseases. Healthy cats' contact with objects such as food and water containers that were contaminated by sick animals is another concern.

Law

Before 2021, the Turkish law defined animals (strays and pets) as "commodities", rather than "living beings". This classification was criticized by animal rights activists, as it led to perceived lenient penalties against animal cruelty. According to the proposition that was accepted in 2021, pets and stray animals were given "living being" status, which allows from six months up to four years jail sentences for crimes against animals. The law also mandates the sterilization of all stray animals in Turkey. In 2019 a Japanese national was deported from Turkey after he admitted to killing and

eating Eating (also known as consuming) is the ingestion of food. In biology, this is typically done to provide a heterotrophic organism with energy and nutrients and to allow for growth. Animals and other heterotrophs must eat in order to survive – ...

5 stray cats in

Küçükçekmece Küçükçekmece (; meaning “small-drawer”, from much earlier ''Rhegion'' (Greek: Ρήγιον) and ''Küçükçökmece as “little breakdown''" or “''little depression''”, in more ancient times just as Bathonea), is a municipality and d ...

, which gained widespread outrage in both countries.

Cat life in Istanbul

Approximately 125,000 stray cats are thought to live in Istanbul. When house cats are included, it is estimated that 200,000 cats live in Istanbul. Street cats are thought to enjoy a comfortable life in the city. Generally, every street in Istanbul has cats that are familiar to locals. In these streets, tiny "cat houses" have been prepared for stray cats. Neighborhood residents place food and water containers in front of their houses to feed stray cats. The Municipality of Istanbul has placed vending machines for cats and dogs in many parts of the city; there are many cats around these vending machines. Citizens passing by put coins into these machines, ensuring that cats and dogs are fed. Stray cats can be seen in many places in Istanbul, whether in university classrooms, on the ferry, on the bus seat, or on the subway, with no one bothering them.

In popular culture and media

Feral cats of Istanbul have been represented in various media. Social media is noted to be a particular medium in which Istanbul's cats gained popularity. Critically acclaimed 2016 Turkish documentary film '' Kedi'' centers around several stray cats that live in the city. 's 2015 children's book ''Searching for a Cat in Istanbul'' (

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

: イスタンブルで猫さがし) concerns with the search of a stray Turkish Van cat by students attending the

Istanbul Japanese School is a Japanese international school located in Etiler, Beşiktaş, Istanbul, Turkey. The school is run by the Japanese Education and Culture Association (Japanese: 日本文化教育協会, Turkish: ''Japon Eğitim Kültür Derneği''). The dipl ...

Tombili Tombili (Turkish for ''chubby'') (birthplace and date unknown, died August 1, 2016) was a street cat from Istanbul. He was internationally known because of a photograph that shows him reclining on the sidewalk. The city of Istanbul honored Tombil ...

became internationally known due to a photograph that showed her reclining on the pavement, and after her death she was honored with a statue.

Gli Gli ( 2004 – 7 November 2020) was a cat from Istanbul best known for living in the Hagia Sophia, for which she became an Internet celebrity, grabbing the attention of visiting tourists. Gli was born in 2004 and was raised at the Hagia Sophi ...

was born in and raised in the

Hagia Sophia Hagia Sophia (; ; ; ; ), officially the Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque (; ), is a mosque and former Church (building), church serving as a major cultural and historical site in Istanbul, Turkey. The last of three church buildings to be successively ...

, gaining the attention of visiting tourists.

Gallery

File:The Cats of Istanbul - 6614719993.jpg, Street cat near

Istanbul Archaeology Museums The Istanbul Archaeology Museums () are a group of three archaeological museums located in the Eminönü quarter of Istanbul, Turkey, near Gülhane Park and Topkapı Palace. These museums house over one million objects from nearly all periods an ...

File:Istanbul Kitty (3955643060).jpg, A

tabby cat A tabby cat, or simply tabby, is any domestic cat (''Felis catus'') with a Cat_coat_genetics#Tabbies , coat pattern distinguished by an M-shaped marking on its forehead, stripes by its eyes and across its cheeks, along its back, around its leg ...

Fatih Fatih () is a municipality and district of Istanbul Province, Turkey. Its area is 15 km2, and its population is 368,227 (2022). It is home to almost all of the provincial authorities (including the mayor's office, police headquarters, metro ...

Flag of Turkey The national flag of Turkey, officially the Turkish flag (), is a red flag featuring a white crescent and star on its emblem, based on the 18th-century Ottoman Empire flag. The flag is often called "the red flag" (), and is referred to as "the ...

in the background. File:Little Hagia Sophia - cemetery - P1040005.JPG, Orange cat in

Little Hagia Sophia The Little Hagia Sophia mosque (), formerly the Church of Saints Sergius and Bacchus (), is a former Greek Orthodox church dedicated to Saints Sergius and Bacchus in Constantinople (modern Istanbul), built between 532 and 536, and converted in ...

cemetery File:Cats of Istanbul.jpg, Tabby and white cat with

Maiden's Tower __NOTOC__ The Maiden's Tower (), also known as Leander's Tower (''Tower of Leandros'') since the Byzantine period, is a tower on a small islet at the southern entrance of the Bosphorus strait, from the coast of Üsküdar in Istanbul, Turk ...

in the background File:Süleymaniye Camii Haziresi'nde bir kedi.jpg, Cat in

Süleymaniye Mosque The Süleymaniye Mosque (, ) is an Ottoman imperial mosque located on the Seven hills of Istanbul, Third Hill of Istanbul, Turkey. The mosque was commissioned by Suleiman the Magnificent () and designed by the imperial architect Mimar Sinan. An ...

cemetery File:Soğanlık metro istasyonu kedisi (cropped).jpg, Cat resting at paw-station of Soganlık metro station. File:Kadıköy Kedisi.jpg, alt=, Cat in

Kadıköy Kadıköy () is a municipality and Districts of Turkey, district on the Asian side of Istanbul Province, Istanbul Province, Turkey. Its area is 25 km2, and its population is 467,919 (2023). It is a large and populous area in the Asian si ...

. File:Feral_cats_at_Maçka_Park,_Istanbul.jpg, Feral cats at

Maçka Park Maçka Democracy Park is a recreational area in Istanbul, Turkey, which has paths for jogging, walking and dog walking. It also has children's areas, rest areas and benches and decorative pools. History The area was part of the Dolmabahçe Pal ...

, Istanbul

References

{{Reflist Istanbul Mammals of Turkey Cats in Turkey