The Turkish city of Istanbul hosts a sizeable feral cat (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. [1]
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. [2] Various media sources connected the positive attitude towards cats in Turkey to Islam (see Islam and cats), [3] [2] the most prevalent faith in the country.
A 2011 study that examined tapeworm infections in stray animals of Istanbul found that 4.65% of the examined cats had Joyeuxiella pasqualei infections. [4] Feline immunodeficiency virus and feline leukemia virus were found to be common among outdoor and stray cats. [5] Although stray cats can be a vector for rabies, out of all 21 rabies cases in Turkey documented between 2000 and 2014 none were through a contact between cats and humans. [6]
Public feeding of cats by the locals has been criticized by several veterinarians. A 2015 paper published by Rutgers University 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. [7]
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. [8] [1]
In 2019 a Japanese national was deported from Turkey after he admitted to killing and eating 5 stray cats in Küçükçekmece, which gained widespread outrage in both countries. [9]
Istanbulites share the streets of the city with approximately 125,000 cats. Moreover, these are just stray cats alone; when house cats are included, it is estimated that 200,000 cats live in this city. Cats are known to enjoy a comfortable life in this city. [10]
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. [10]
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. [10]
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. [10]
Feral cats of Istanbul have been represented in various media. Social media is noted to be a particular medium that Istanbul's cats gained popularity. [2]
Critically acclaimed 2016 Turkish documentary film Kedi centers around several stray cats that live in the city. [11] Etsuko Shundo 's 2015 children's book Searching for a Cat in Istanbul (Japanese: 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. [12]
Tombili became internationally known due to a photograph that showed her reclining on the pavement, and after her death she was honored with a statue. [13] [14]
Gli was born in and raised in the Hagia Sophia, gaining the attention of visiting tourists.
The Turkish Van is a semi-long-haired, standardised breed of domestic cat, which was developed in the United Kingdom from a selection of cats obtained from various cities of modern Turkey, especially southeast Turkey. The breed is rare, is one of the larger breeds, and is distinguished by the Van pattern, where the colour is restricted to the head and the tail, and the rest of the cat is white; this is due to the expression of the piebald white spotting gene, a type of partial leucism. A Turkish Van may have blue or amber eyes, or be odd-eyed.
An animal shelter or pound is a place where stray, lost, abandoned or surrendered animals – mostly dogs and cats – are housed. The word "pound" has its origins in the animal pounds of agricultural communities, where stray livestock would be penned or impounded until they were claimed by their owners.
Trap–neuter–return (TNR), also known as trap–neuter–release, is a controversial method that attempts to manage populations of feral cats. The process involves live-trapping the cats, having them neutered, ear-tipped for identification, and, if possible, vaccinated, then releasing them back into the outdoors. If the location is deemed unsafe or otherwise inappropriate, the cats may be relocated to other appropriate areas. Ideally, friendly adults and kittens young enough to be easily socialized are retained and placed for adoption. Feral cats cannot be socialized, shun most human interaction and do not fare well in confinement, so they are not retained. Cats suffering from severe medical problems such as terminal, contagious, or untreatable illnesses or injuries are often euthanized.
A feral cat or a stray cat is an unowned domestic cat 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 of generations and become an aggressive local apex predator in urban, savannah and bushland environments. Some feral cats may become more comfortable with people who regularly feed them, but even with long-term attempts at socialization, they usually remain aloof and are most active after dusk. Of the 700 million cats in the world, an estimated 480 million are feral.
The farm cat, also known as a barn cat, is a domestic cat, usually of mixed breed, that lives primarily outdoors, in a feral or semi-feral condition on agricultural properties, usually sheltering in outbuildings. They eat assorted vermin such as rodents and other small animals that live in or around outbuildings and farm fields. The need for the farm cat may have been the original reason cats were domesticated, to keep rodents from consuming or contaminating grain crops stored for later human consumption. They are still commonly kept for their effectiveness at controlling undesired vermin found on farms, ranches, greenhouses, and even drug farms, which would otherwise eat or contaminate crops, especially grain or feed stocks. Farm cats hunt the initial rodent population, and their pheromones keep further rodents from filling the void.
The health of domestic cats is a well studied area in veterinary medicine.
Feline vaccination is animal vaccination applied to cats. Vaccination plays a vital role in protecting cats from infectious diseases, some of which are potentially fatal. They can be exposed to these diseases from their environment, other pets, or even humans.
Almost all human deaths caused by rabies occur in Asia and Africa.
Compassion and Responsibility for Animals (CARA) is a registered non-profit, non-government animal welfare organization in the Philippines. It was founded in 2000 by a group of animal lovers determined to help the plight of animals in the Philippines. The current president of CARA is Nancy Cu-Unjieng.
Street dogs, known in scientific literature as free-ranging urban dogs, are unconfined dogs that live in cities. They live virtually everywhere cities exist and the local human population allows, especially in the developing world. Street dogs may be stray dogs, pets which have strayed from or are abandoned by their owners, or may be feral animals that have never been owned. Street dogs may be stray purebreds, true mixed-breed dogs, or unbred landraces such as the Indian pariah dog. Street dog overpopulation can cause problems for the societies in which they live, so campaigns to spay and neuter them are sometimes implemented. They tend to differ from rural free-ranging dogs in their skill sets, socialization, and ecological effects.
Abandoned pets are companion animals that are either inadvertently or deliberately abandoned by their owners, by either dumping the animals on the streets, leaving them alone in a vacant property, or relinquishing them at an animal shelter.
Tabby's Place is a cat sanctuary situated in Ringoes, New Jersey, United States. Opened in 2003, it can house approximately 130 cats, which come primarily from high-volume public animal shelters where they have been scheduled to be killed.
A free-ranging dog is a dog that is not confined to a yard or house. Free-ranging dogs include street dogs, village dogs, stray dogs, feral dogs, etc., and may be owned or unowned. The global dog population is estimated to be 900 million, of which around 20% are regarded as owned pets and therefore restrained.
HAYTAP is an animal rights federation in Turkey . It is an animal rights organization and a federation of such organisations based in Istanbul, currently led by Ahmet Kemal Şenpolat.
Cats are a popular pet in New Zealand. Cat ownership is occasionally raised as a controversial conservation issue due to the predation of endangered species, such as birds and lizards, by feral cats.
The Vancouver Orphan Kitten Rescue Association (VOKRA) is a no kill, non-profit cat rescue organization in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, providing trap–neuter–return services to Vancouver and nearby communities.
Project Bay Cat is a trap-neuter-return initiative for community cats in Northern California.
Kedi is a 2016 Turkish documentary film directed by Ceyda Torun about the many stray cats that live in Istanbul. It premiered at the !f Istanbul Independent Film Festival on 21 February 2016 before being given a North American theatrical release on 10 February 2017. It debuted on the YouTube Red streaming service on 10 May 2017. It was released on DVD in the US on 14 November 2017. The film received critical acclaim, and grossed over $5 million. Time magazine listed it as one of its top ten films of 2017.
Gli was a Turkish European Shorthair 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 Hagia Sophia. She gained significant media attention when the Hagia Sophia was re-opened to worship in 2020.