Cute Cat Pic of the Week – via Istanbul

Our dear friend who lived in NYC for 10 years is now back home in her native Istanbul. This morning she sends this!

“Today’s mail – catalogs, bills and… a cat!?”

When Susanne and I visited her, we noticed too, that cats rule the city!

On the matter…

Cat culture thrives in Istanbul:

The special status of stray cats in Istanbul and elsewhere in Turkey reflects a tradition-bound country on the path to modernity. It partly derives from Muslim ideas about tolerance, and an urban elite with Western-style ideas about animal rights. It points to the freewheeling side of a society that seeks entry into the European Union’s world of regulation

When President Obama visited Turkey last year, he paused to stroke a tabby cat at the former Byzantine church of Haghia Sophia while Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan looked on with a smile. The cat, one of half a dozen living at the ancient site, seemed unfazed by the VIP attention.

 

..And here’s a cute cat blog to look at on your lunch break!