Last Updated on 27 December 2025 by Vanessa
I have been fortunate to be able to travel frequently as a travel writer, and I love seeing cats in all the places I visit. Istanbul definitely stands out as a cat-friendly city with lots of cat memories for me. Cats are everywhere in Turkey. Istanbul, as the country’s largest city, is filled with cats. In fact, it has been jokingly called Catstantinople (a play on the city’s former name of Constantinople).
Cats of Istanbul: exploring Turkey’s cat-friendly culture
Istanbul’s love for cats
The vast majority of cats in Istanbul are not pets or housecats. But they are not exactly uncared for strays either.
Many people in the local community take care of the street cats.
We frequently came across bowls and pots full of water and food as we wandered around the city, set out by people to feed the local cats.
Some people also set up boxes for the cats to sleep in and some mosques have even been opened for cats to spend the night during the cold winter months. (Sadly the stray dogs of Istanbul do not seem nearly as well cared for compared to the cats.)
Why are the stray cats looked after in Turkey?
Turkey is today a predominately Muslim country, and it is believed by many Muslims that cats should be respected and taken care of and not hurt.
For example, there is a story that the prophet Muhammad. He found a cat that had settled on the sleeve of his robe, and instead of disturbing the cat, he tore that part of his robe off.
Religion aside, there is also a tradition of caring for the cats of Istanbul that is passed from parents to children who continue to put out food and water for the local felines.
Of course, not all people in Istanbul (Muslim or not) care for the cats, and life as a stray cat in a city is still a pretty rough life.
The life expectancy of a stray cat is significantly less than a domestic cat kept as a pet.
However, many of the cats of Istanbul are able to survive due to the generosity of its people.
A recent documentary, Kedi: Cats in Istanbul, is a good one to watch to learn more and see the cats of Istanbul.
Where to find cats in Istanbul?
The cats can be found in every part of Istanbul.
You’ll find them enjoying the sun along the river, cuddled up in boxes, dumpster diving, fighting, playing, and sneaking around under the market stalls in this large and chaotic city.
One kitty even lives in one of the world’s most famous mosques (Gli of the Hagia Sophia).
Some of the cats were friendly and affectionate – bounding up the stairs for pets and hopes of food, and others were quite skittish and kept away.
Sitting down at an outdoor café and restraint and ordering a meat or fish dish is almost a surefire way to attract a street cat with begging eyes.
The cats are a variety of breeds, shapes, and colors, their ancestors likely having arrived from all over the world into the city’s port as sailors would traditionally keep cats on their ships to kill the rodents.
Conclusion
We have visited Istanbul twice so far and both times have enjoyed seeing and photographing the feline residents!
We definitely recommend taking the time to look out for the cats if you are in Istanbul.
Jessica Norah is a full-time travel blogger at Independent Travel Cats, who currently lives in Edinburgh, Scotland, with her husband Laurence. Sadly she had to leave her own two cats (Dodger and Dash) in the US when she moved to the UK, but she goes back to visit them as much as she can, and she adopts kitty friends throughout her travels around the world.
Read more about the cats of Istanbul
- Book spotlight: City Cats of Istanbul by Marcel Heijnen
- 20 fun facts about the cats of Istanbul
- Cats in literature and cinema: Turkey’s literary and cinematic purr-sonalities
- Bad Cat (2016): a movie about a stray cat’s life in the back alleys of Istanbul
Discover more cat-friendly cultures
- How the inhabitants of Doha in Qatar take care of their street cats
- Eilat, a city of cats in Israel
- Taking care of the community cats of Venice, Italy
- Visiting “cat village” Houtong in Taiwan
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