By Ewelina Lepionko
A popular saying notes “If you kill a cat, you need to build a mosque to be forgiven by God.”
In Turkey’s sprawling cultural capital, cats are a feisty symbol of the city. In the city of Istanbul, there are more than just human inhabitants.
Hundreds of thousands of strays, neither feral nor tame, live among the denizens of Istanbul. The animals are as comfortable lounging with tea drinkers at a café as they are dodging cars on traffic-choked streets.
People often feel duty-bound to care for the animals. Civic-minded locals place bowls of food and water on the pavement with signs that read “bon appetit”.
