Original Article: https://blog.theanimalrescuesite.greatergood.com/istanbul-stray-cat-houses/

Stray animals are seen in almost every part of the world, but in Istanbul, they are frequently seen. With over 15 million people in the city, there are plenty of neighbors to help and the city itself is known for how they care for its stray cats.

In order to care for the animals and to make sure they are safe and comfortable, volunteers are building houses for them.

According to a local source, inside of the houses, the felines will find cushions, toys, and food that has been donated. They are able to get inside and out of the weather and enjoy a little comfort at the same time.

This isn’t a new initiative, either. As the local source, Transitions, reported, Didem Gokgoz is an interior architect to got things started back in 2008. When she would be headed home through the park, she would see stray cats trying to find a place to keep warm. At first, she put out some plastic boxes so they could shelter in the area but they were removed by officials because they were an eyesore.

This didn’t stop her from working on the situation. There were plenty of people who wanted to feed the stray cats so they started looking for a better way to build shelters that would be acceptable to the officials of the city. The mayor was even invited to a meeting and the idea was discussed, and he agreed to it.

After showing the mayor the designs, along with telling him how it would work, he just said “Okay, do it; if we think it works, we will support it”

The stray cat population in Istanbul is thought to be over 125,000. There was even a 2016 documentary that talked about the problem, along with showing how the locals interacted with their feline neighbors.

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Now that they had the approval of the mayor that the houses would stay in place, they got busy building. It started out with two houses in the park where Gokgoz first saw a need for the homes. It has grown quite a lot since then.

Requests to build the houses come in from many areas. This includes various universities, a bank, and cafés throughout the city. There are also requests from other areas outside of the city.

According to Transitions, Gokgoz said: “It became something normal; individuals make requests for cat houses.” She went on to say that they have reached their main goal.

It will be interesting to see where things go from here.

Source: The Animal Rescue Site Blog