Turgutreis Cats
...by Cecilia Sev, Ottawa, Canada, August 2009
A sage once said, “There is no such thing as an ordinary cat”, and that I firmly believe. I’m not sure what it is about cats that I find so irresistible. Yes, they are cute and cuddly, but it’s more than that. Maybe it is the sense of dignity they exude, their apparent pride regardless of their often dire circumstances or maybe it is their inscrutable gaze that leaves you wondering how wise they really are. Turgutreis, my home for 6 months each year has many homeless cats. So when I am there I keep a bag of “yummies” in my purse and I dole out treats to the cats I meet on my way in and out of town. I also share my terrace with “My Cats” five in all. At least I call them “My Cats” but strictly speaking they are not mine. Either they belong to an absentee owner or they are homeless but collectively they belong in the Site where I live. However when I am in Turgutreis, there is
no doubt; they are “My Cats”.
And what brings them to my terrace is the food of course; clean cold water and store bought munchies, good stuff for hungry cats. First there is Blackie, pardon the unimaginative name, who swaggers about oblivious to the fact that his coat is shabby and bare in parts. Blackie has dignity in spades. Although he eats the least of all, with his strange inimitable cry Blackie always has a “Thank-You” for me. I suspect that Blackie is female and probably not neutered. Mercan, Fatty and Kizim are all sweet cuddly soft grey-tiger females and Mercan, I know, is neutered. Fatty, as you will have guessed, eats the most and always cries for more. Whitey, now he is one cat who challenges my declaration of universal, unconditional love. A spectacularly un-neutered alpha male that all others cautiously avoid, Whitey is not a pretty sight. His ears are chewed off and his off-white
coat a map of battle scars. Whitey invites neither a cuddle nor a hug.
But all of “My Cats”, in their own way, say thank-you. They “hang around” and give me the pleasure of their company. At least one of them greets me at the front door in the morning or is draped over the table on the terrace when I go out for breakfast. Or they wait to see me from some vantage point in the courtyard, a flower pot or the Garden wall: I signal the chance of a full and satisfied tummy.
Well! To feed or not to feed, that was the dilemma I had to face when advised by well intentioned friends that by feeding the cats I encouraged a survival that would only produce more hungry cats. I thought long and hard about this but finally dismissed the idea. While this argument does have some merit in a Darwinian human reasoning sort of way, it would make no sense at all to a hungry cat. The day to day life of homeless cats is about mere survival. It’s about the next meal. Unlike us, they don’t have the luxury of long term planning. Anyway, I discussed this issue with “My Cats” and in unison they cried, “No lectures please, just give us more of the good stuff”.
But seriously, in Turgutreis, homeless cats are a real and very sad reality and limiting their numbers will benefit all of them. And here I must congratulate the Turgutreis Belediyesi who in recognition of the problem sponsors local vets in a cat neutering program. That is the way!
neutering – not starvation is, the only solution I can live with to cull the homeless cat population. And here I will make a practical argument in favour of neutering the male population on the grounds that neutering male cats is the least intrusive surgery. So watch out boys, it is snip-snip time. When I return to Turgutreis in late September I plan to take Turgutreis Cats to the vet – and if I can entice Whitey into my cat- carrier, he will be the first to go.
A sage once said, “There is no such thing as an ordinary cat”, and that I firmly believe. I’m not sure what it is about cats that I find so irresistible. Yes, they are cute and cuddly, but it’s more than that. Maybe it is the sense of dignity they exude, their apparent pride regardless of their often dire circumstances or maybe it is their inscrutable gaze that leaves you wondering how wise they really are. Turgutreis, my home for 6 months each year has many homeless cats. So when I am there I keep a bag of “yummies” in my purse and I dole out treats to the cats I meet on my way in and out of town. I also share my terrace with “My Cats” five in all. At least I call them “My Cats” but strictly speaking they are not mine. Either they belong to an absentee owner or they are homeless but collectively they belong in the Site where I live. However when I am in Turgutreis, there is
no doubt; they are “My Cats”.
And what brings them to my terrace is the food of course; clean cold water and store bought munchies, good stuff for hungry cats. First there is Blackie, pardon the unimaginative name, who swaggers about oblivious to the fact that his coat is shabby and bare in parts. Blackie has dignity in spades. Although he eats the least of all, with his strange inimitable cry Blackie always has a “Thank-You” for me. I suspect that Blackie is female and probably not neutered. Mercan, Fatty and Kizim are all sweet cuddly soft grey-tiger females and Mercan, I know, is neutered. Fatty, as you will have guessed, eats the most and always cries for more. Whitey, now he is one cat who challenges my declaration of universal, unconditional love. A spectacularly un-neutered alpha male that all others cautiously avoid, Whitey is not a pretty sight. His ears are chewed off and his off-white
coat a map of battle scars. Whitey invites neither a cuddle nor a hug.
But all of “My Cats”, in their own way, say thank-you. They “hang around” and give me the pleasure of their company. At least one of them greets me at the front door in the morning or is draped over the table on the terrace when I go out for breakfast. Or they wait to see me from some vantage point in the courtyard, a flower pot or the Garden wall: I signal the chance of a full and satisfied tummy.
Well! To feed or not to feed, that was the dilemma I had to face when advised by well intentioned friends that by feeding the cats I encouraged a survival that would only produce more hungry cats. I thought long and hard about this but finally dismissed the idea. While this argument does have some merit in a Darwinian human reasoning sort of way, it would make no sense at all to a hungry cat. The day to day life of homeless cats is about mere survival. It’s about the next meal. Unlike us, they don’t have the luxury of long term planning. Anyway, I discussed this issue with “My Cats” and in unison they cried, “No lectures please, just give us more of the good stuff”.
But seriously, in Turgutreis, homeless cats are a real and very sad reality and limiting their numbers will benefit all of them. And here I must congratulate the Turgutreis Belediyesi who in recognition of the problem sponsors local vets in a cat neutering program. That is the way!
neutering – not starvation is, the only solution I can live with to cull the homeless cat population. And here I will make a practical argument in favour of neutering the male population on the grounds that neutering male cats is the least intrusive surgery. So watch out boys, it is snip-snip time. When I return to Turgutreis in late September I plan to take Turgutreis Cats to the vet – and if I can entice Whitey into my cat- carrier, he will be the first to go.