I've always been a dog person until last year when we got two Maine Coons who proved to be a lot more dog-like, more cuddly and not prone to taking a piece out of me when the mood struck them than my previous cats. Since then, I have joined the sad tribe of cat people in the world. When we went to Turkey, we discovered a country that adores cats. Yes, there are street dogs (which appear to all be tagged on the ear) - usually German Shepherd or Anatolian Shepherd looking crosses- but they tend to sleep a lot and know their place, and they certainly did not seem to be as numerous as the cats. The cats are everywhere - in shops, hotels, restaurants, on the streets- and they appear to be quite cherished. This is partly because Turkey is a mainly Moslem country, and for followers of Islam dogs are considered unclean, while cats are admired for their cleanliness and known as been loved by the prophet Mohammad, who is believed to have cut off a sleeve of his prayer robe rather than disturb his cat, Muezza, who was sleeping on it. We did see some scraggy looking and ill cats, but most of them seem to healthy and looked after, even if they were street cats. People put out biscuits, water and fresh meat for the cats in their area. I was so taken with the cat cult that I took photos of them whenever I could. This blog is a visual diary of the cats we encountered. If you are a cat person, enjoy! If not, ignore!
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