Pampered street cats of Istanbul (Turkey)
This is the cat that “guarded” my hotel in Istanbul. He was there each night and didn’t mind people coming or going. People walked around him even though he decided to camp out right on the entry carpet. He is one of many such cats in Istanbul.
The street cats are often very friendly because they generally aren’t mistreated by being chased or hurt. Some people even band together to pay for any medical care the cats need and provide them with food and water, and a head scritch (or scratch) or two if they want it.
If you love cats, it’s a great place to go, and if you don’t’ like cats you can totally avoid them.
There are literally hundreds of thousands of street cats in Istanbul. There is even a documentary that met with rave reviews a couple years ago about them called Kedi. I’ve seen it twice (once at the limited theater engagement, and once on a plane). It’s really touching how the Turks take care of these street cats.
Happy travels and cat petting!
