I want to clarify. I am a lifelong cat owner and cat lover (also love dogs). What would distress me is that unregulated breeding can only lead to the illness and death of many animals. There isn’t a solution when it’s cultural but I’d feel sad to see so many cats outside.
The illness and death of not just cats, BTW. House cats are considered to be one of the worst (if not the worst) invasive species in the world (other than humans, I guess) and outdoor cats kill billions of birds each year. Trump's windmills have nothing on them.
Thr number of bird deaths attributed to outdoor cats is really not known. Thr billion figure I believe is an abstract or estimste. I personally think cats ought to be indoor animals.
I absolutely get your pointing about too many bird deaths. Added to that is my selfish reason: not having to step over-in-on cat poop everywhere I went.
If not exactly sacred, like cows are in Hinduism, cats are revered in Turkish/Islamic culture dating back even before the Ottoman Empire where they played a critical role in protecting food and public health from rats and other vermin. The sayings of the Prophet Muhammad (Hadith) which provide guidance for Muslims apart from the Koran, have a number of references to his affection for cats, including the warning that anyone who kills a cat has to build seven mosques. There's a wonderful documentary about the cats of Istanbul called "Kedi" (Turkish for "cat") which used to be on Netflix and may still be streaming on other platforms.
My husband and I stopped in Istanbul in 1963, on our way to Delhi to work for our now mostly destroyed foreign aid agency of blessed memory. We were traveling with our orange and white cat, adopted from a Rhode Island highway embankment. We soon discovered why the bell boy at the hotel thought we were nuts to haul a cat from NYC to Istanbul.
The city was full of skinny adolescent orange and white cats, hungry and abandoned. I am so glad to see they are now well fed and appreciated, as well as vari colored.
Rome also has its cat clowders, which are found mostly in and around major ruins such as the Forum and the Colosseum. The cats are fed and looked after by local Little Old Ladies.
We are an ailurophilic household (meaning we live in an ailurocracy...), currently with five cats, and, if I have conjured up a complete list--unlikely--18 since we were married 37 years ago. We often remember the "kittycats of Greece" where they likewise live on the streets, often around outdoor fish restaurants. When you order a fish, they gut the fish, grill it, and bring it to your table complete with head. Good manners requires that you remove the head and drop it to the ground for the nearest cat. They are often friendly even when food is not present, and we have a series of photographs of my wife in the old walled city of Rhodes petting a couple of cats, then accruing a few more, etc., until the crowd peaked at 17 cats. (My wife is still visible in the last picture.)
I've been to Istanbul. I'm practically a cat myself. I was traumatized by the stray cats I saw starving in Rome ca. 1980; enchanted by the sleek happy treasured street cats of Istanbul.
I loved this posting, Gene. My wife and I have been graced by multiple cats over the years. In 1976 we did a camping tour of Europe, from England to Norway and the Arctic Circle, down to Turkey, and back to England. At the campground outside of Istanbul, a kitten there befriended us; we fed her and she spent the nights with us in our camper, purring continuously.
I said "Kinda" because I'm allergic to cats, and cats seem to know who exactly is allergic, and spend time rubbing my legs, jumping on me, etc. But I would also worry about whether they get vet care. From the numbers, I assume that they aren't spayed/neutered, but do they get basic vaccinations and preventatives?
I'm a Jewish mother and I would constantly worry about who ensures that any cat that needs medical attention receives it, along with regular annual exams, shots, etc.
Dogs, mostly mongrel brown, roam the streets in packs in Bhutan. The Humane Society International is working to spay, neuter, and innoculate against rabies nearly every street dog in the country.
Most Bhutanese agents tell their guests to bring ear plugs, some even give plugs.The problem exists mostly in Paro and Thimphu.
I thought that Ataturk was alleged to be reincarnated as a cat, thus the good treatment of cats. My understanding is that Islam does not care for dogs. I love cats, but voted that I would be upset to see so many street cats, because they kill so many birds and other small animals, plus I was a vet tech, and I hate seeing animals not get the medical care they need. Lastly, my mother was an army brat and her dad was stationed in Ankara when she was a teen, and they loved it.
I note you and Rachel have traded the infernal B-787 for the slightly more spacious 777. At least, in my experience, you won't need to sidle down the aisles and you get to raise and lower window shades manually. Safe landing and good luck resetting your bio clocks, which between South Africa and Turkey are by now thoroughly discombobulated.
I want to clarify. I am a lifelong cat owner and cat lover (also love dogs). What would distress me is that unregulated breeding can only lead to the illness and death of many animals. There isn’t a solution when it’s cultural but I’d feel sad to see so many cats outside.
In Rome the caretakers of the cats have a TNR program to limit the population.
The illness and death of not just cats, BTW. House cats are considered to be one of the worst (if not the worst) invasive species in the world (other than humans, I guess) and outdoor cats kill billions of birds each year. Trump's windmills have nothing on them.
Thr number of bird deaths attributed to outdoor cats is really not known. Thr billion figure I believe is an abstract or estimste. I personally think cats ought to be indoor animals.
I absolutely get your pointing about too many bird deaths. Added to that is my selfish reason: not having to step over-in-on cat poop everywhere I went.
Billions? Maybe without kitties, we'd be overrun with birds? 🤔
Yes, literally billions. And that's in North America alone.
https://enviroliteracy.org/how-many-birds-are-killed-by-cats-each-year-in-north-america/
Exactly!
If not exactly sacred, like cows are in Hinduism, cats are revered in Turkish/Islamic culture dating back even before the Ottoman Empire where they played a critical role in protecting food and public health from rats and other vermin. The sayings of the Prophet Muhammad (Hadith) which provide guidance for Muslims apart from the Koran, have a number of references to his affection for cats, including the warning that anyone who kills a cat has to build seven mosques. There's a wonderful documentary about the cats of Istanbul called "Kedi" (Turkish for "cat") which used to be on Netflix and may still be streaming on other platforms.
I saw Kedi and the inevitable deaths especially of kittens was heartbreaking.
My husband and I stopped in Istanbul in 1963, on our way to Delhi to work for our now mostly destroyed foreign aid agency of blessed memory. We were traveling with our orange and white cat, adopted from a Rhode Island highway embankment. We soon discovered why the bell boy at the hotel thought we were nuts to haul a cat from NYC to Istanbul.
The city was full of skinny adolescent orange and white cats, hungry and abandoned. I am so glad to see they are now well fed and appreciated, as well as vari colored.
Thanks for the good work you did around the world. Sigh.
The Cats of Istanbul would be a good name for my SKA revival band.
I would think your band would play jazz.
Kats with a K
Rome also has its cat clowders, which are found mostly in and around major ruins such as the Forum and the Colosseum. The cats are fed and looked after by local Little Old Ladies.
The Torre de Argentina cat sanctuary in Rome is fabulous. https://www.gattidiroma.net/web/en/
We are an ailurophilic household (meaning we live in an ailurocracy...), currently with five cats, and, if I have conjured up a complete list--unlikely--18 since we were married 37 years ago. We often remember the "kittycats of Greece" where they likewise live on the streets, often around outdoor fish restaurants. When you order a fish, they gut the fish, grill it, and bring it to your table complete with head. Good manners requires that you remove the head and drop it to the ground for the nearest cat. They are often friendly even when food is not present, and we have a series of photographs of my wife in the old walled city of Rhodes petting a couple of cats, then accruing a few more, etc., until the crowd peaked at 17 cats. (My wife is still visible in the last picture.)
I've been to Istanbul. I'm practically a cat myself. I was traumatized by the stray cats I saw starving in Rome ca. 1980; enchanted by the sleek happy treasured street cats of Istanbul.
I loved this posting, Gene. My wife and I have been graced by multiple cats over the years. In 1976 we did a camping tour of Europe, from England to Norway and the Arctic Circle, down to Turkey, and back to England. At the campground outside of Istanbul, a kitten there befriended us; we fed her and she spent the nights with us in our camper, purring continuously.
Pleased to see that cats still rule.
I said "Kinda" because I'm allergic to cats, and cats seem to know who exactly is allergic, and spend time rubbing my legs, jumping on me, etc. But I would also worry about whether they get vet care. From the numbers, I assume that they aren't spayed/neutered, but do they get basic vaccinations and preventatives?
I'm a Jewish mother and I would constantly worry about who ensures that any cat that needs medical attention receives it, along with regular annual exams, shots, etc.
Kedi is a great film documentary, it came out in 2016, it is about Istanbul's street cats.
I make a make sandwich with all rare meat from a vertical rotisserie. I call it a blood döner.
As for the cats, that's very much like Jerusalem. Cats all over the place.
Old Jewish joke (which loses something when you type it):
Who sleeps with cats?
Mrs. Katz!
Jerusalemites will tell you feral cats are a blessing as they keep the city free from mice and rats. We would do well to have them here in DC.
You’re probably familiar with the much longer, funnier, and racier version.
Dogs, mostly mongrel brown, roam the streets in packs in Bhutan. The Humane Society International is working to spay, neuter, and innoculate against rabies nearly every street dog in the country.
Most Bhutanese agents tell their guests to bring ear plugs, some even give plugs.The problem exists mostly in Paro and Thimphu.
I thought that Ataturk was alleged to be reincarnated as a cat, thus the good treatment of cats. My understanding is that Islam does not care for dogs. I love cats, but voted that I would be upset to see so many street cats, because they kill so many birds and other small animals, plus I was a vet tech, and I hate seeing animals not get the medical care they need. Lastly, my mother was an army brat and her dad was stationed in Ankara when she was a teen, and they loved it.
I note you and Rachel have traded the infernal B-787 for the slightly more spacious 777. At least, in my experience, you won't need to sidle down the aisles and you get to raise and lower window shades manually. Safe landing and good luck resetting your bio clocks, which between South Africa and Turkey are by now thoroughly discombobulated.