Istanbul Volunteers Build Beautiful Cat Houses for Stray Cats To Keep Them Warm

• In 2008, interior architect Didem Gokgoz put plastic boxes all over the park to keep stray cats warm, but they were removed by the city.
• Didem came to know a group of cat lovers who would feed the stray cats, and teamed up with them.
• The group built beautiful houses for the stray cats, and fill them with donated food, toys, and cushions.

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Groups of volunteers in Istanbul build elaborate houses for stray cats to keep them out of harsh weather conditions.

The cats can also find donated food, toys, and cushions inside. If they’re lucky, they can also find a new owner.

It all started in 2008 with interior architect Didem Gokgoz. She always sees stray cats trying to find places to keep warm in winter in Mistik Park. She regularly passed through the park on her way to work in the district of Sisli.

She tried to help the cats by putting several plastic boxes they could shelter in. Officials, however, removed them because they were seen as an eyesore.

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Didem eventually came to know cat lovers who would feed the strays, and formed a plan to build beautiful shelters. She also invited the mayor to a meeting to propose the idea.

“There were three of us in the pouring rain: Me, my lawyer friend, and Mr. Mustafa Sarigul [then the Sisli mayor],” Didem reported to Tol, a news outlet in Istanbul.

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“We showed him our designs, explained how it would work and everything. Mr. Sarigul listened carefully and said, ‘OK, do it; if we think it works, we will support it.’”

There are about 125,000 stray cats in Istanbul. In 2016, a documentary called Cat became a hit with international audiences and showed an amicable relationship between the city’s stray cats and its human residents.

After getting the mayor’s word that new houses would not be removed, Didem installed two houses in Mistik Park with her friends. She also runs the nonprofit cat supplier Podo.

The Mistik Park colorful cat houses were covered by local news and they have been replicated in parks around the city’s 39 districts.

Didem was flooded with requests to build cat houses for universities, cafes, and even the Industrial Development Bank of Turkey.

“It became something normal; individuals make requests for cat houses,” she said. “That was our main goal, and we’ve reached it. Today, everybody accepts that cats must have their own life spaces in the city.”

Volunteers also ensure that strays who wander into the community are spayed and neutered, and that any signs of disease can be dealt with immediately.

Source: Good News Network