Life in the Stans: The Cats of Istanbul

In my walking through Istanbul, I have noticed many cats. I realized that I hadn't seen a cat since I left the United States four months ago. Kyrgyzstan has plenty of packs of stray dogs and I've noticed a couple of different people in my apartment building walking their dogs, but cats aren't anywhere to be found. Perhaps that's why the cats of Istanbul have captured my attention.

I have found that people seem to either love cats or hate them. I am one of the few who fall into neither of the categories. I am quite content to live in Bishkek without a cat, but I have a respect for the feline world that comes from having lived in close proximity to cats throughout my life. I have never technically owned a cat, but have somehow found myself tending to the cats of others. I have given dozens of insulin injections to a diabetic cat, have diapered a 22-year-old cat who could no longer use the litter pan consistently (trust me, it wasn't my idea), have spent three days in Florence searching for an aggressive tabby who had escaped from our top-floor apartment across the rooftops of the city, have been entrusted to take the cats of others to the vet to be sent to the afterlife because the owners couldn't bear to do the task themselves, have helped dig the holes to bury two expired cats, have as a seven-year-old watched a mother cat give birth to several kittens in a closet, and have cleaned more litter pans and hairballs off the carpet than I had ever imagined possible. These are some of the reasons why, though neither a cat lover or hater, I somehow sympathize with them and have concern for their fate.

Having experienced a complete absence of cats these past months, I found Istanbul's tolerance and even affinity for cats to be a pleasant diversion. Cats are everywhere. They are in the cathedrals, prowling the streets, and begging for food at sidewalk cafes. I think in the U.S., people would shoo them away, call the animal control unit, and in some rural redneck enclaves I have visited, might even bring firearms into play. But here in Istanbul, cats are free to be themselves and seem to be liked even (yes, I understand they should be neutered and that street life is not a good fate for a cat). Tomorrow, I will return to Kyrgyzstan, land of roaming dogs and horses and cows and goats and sheep and I will keep these pictures as a reminder of another land.