Why Cats Rule Istanbul’s Streets

Animals are plentiful and roam freely, dogs can be found in the funniest places, but cats rule the streets in Istanbul. Cats rule the Streets of Istanbul and are the top of the animal kingdom. Seriously. Cats Rock in Istanbul!

How Cats Rule The Streets of Istanbul

We interrupt our regularly scheduled stories to tell you about cats.

My friends at the bazaar consider this dove their pet bird

News Flash regarding the G20 meeting and the parade of cats experience. Cats make everyone smile especially in Istanbul.

There are so many cats and dogs on the streets of Istanbul, its remarkable. No one even tries to contain the cats, they are the rulers and sanitation crew in Istanbul’s streets. In the hearts of Istanbul’s people they are beloved. No one tries to contain them not even for the G20 Summit.

I saw lots of free-wheeling, adorable cats and dogs wandering the streets in Istanbul. Sometimes, in Sultanahmet, I saw birds, such as parakeets, that had escaped from their cages. Maybe they were just let go because they were no longer wanted. How ever the animals got to the streets of Istanbul they are everywhere.

The men at the Arasta Bazaar are proud of this bird who returns to nest.

The closest translation to the name of this bird in English is crow. The people believe that this bird lives 200 years. That would mean that this bird could have been alive when the city of Istanbul was dirt roads and only 1 million people. The birds are very hard to photograph.

Wild cats keep the city streets free of rodents and varmints. The city of Istanbul has a good spay-and-neuter program. The city collects all the cats and dogs and spays and neuters them. Then they tag their ears to show that they were altered.

During the times I have been in Istanbul, I have never seen a dog fight. I have seen cat fights when a female is in heat, or over food. I have heard a lot of cats fighting in Sultanahmet.

A hotel guest adopted a dog

A Canadian guest fell in love with a big black dog. The man bought a large dog crate and an airplane ticket, then took the dog to the vet for vaccination shots. When the Canadian tourist left, the dog went with him back to Canada. It was that simple. The dog was named Istanbul, and he now lives in Canada.

This dog isn’t as lucky. He still lives on the streets.

Cats Rule The Streets of Istanbul

Watch out, feral cats can bite

One little girl at my restaurant was feeding a kitty one morning and the cat bit her. I didn’t see a reason, but the cats are wild, and if they fear anything — they bite.

Shop owners often semi-adopt the feral cats. This means that they give them leftover food and feed them, but the cats don’t get vacinnations. So if they are sick, you will get sick too.

For this article, I used my cell phone photos. Never again. I am going to use my good camera, a Nikon D300, for a series on street animals around the world. I have discovered a new photo topic.