Research Project: Turkey's Stray Cats & Dogs (posted by Annie)

Introduction

For my Turkish research project, I decided to learn about the stray cats and dogs of Turkey, and what ordinary people can do to help them. When walking around, you literally see cats and dogs every step you take. Even from 800 years ago, there is evidence that people were obsessed with cats, for there is a shrine from the 1200s dedicated to a cat in Konya. According to the Holy Qur'an, the holy book in Islam, the main religion in Turkey, you must treat animals fairly. You might want to know about the Hayirsiz Incident. The Hayirsiz Incident occurred because, in 1911, the Ottoman Sultan wanted to be more like the other western countries, and have no street animals. So, he rounded up the dogs in Istanbul and sent them to Sivri Island, a barren, tiny island off the coast of Istanbul. Soon, dog corpses were washing up on the mainland. And to make matters worse, there was a huge earthquake (Wiley). They thought the earthquake was a sign from god, about how they were mistreating the dogs. The Sultan gave up (Wiley). This is the start of what I think is Turkey's battle against the strays. Sources vary from how many strays there are, such as:

• About 100,000 dogs in Istanbul (Wiley)

• 4,000,000 stray dogs or more (Genc)

• 10,000,000 stray cats and dogs (Massink).

You can easily see that there is a big difference in how many strays there are. 

According to Tayyip Erdogan, the current President of Turkey, dogs cause many accidents. About 23 people were usually killed by diseases, or if a driver sees a dog in the middle of the road, he swerves to get out of the way, and hits a person. Another reason why he wants to get rid of the dogs is because of their feces. To me, it is not a very good reason to start killing ALL the dogs. More recently, the government has been putting them in shelters. The government says the shelters are healthy, but usually they are really crowded with sick strays, and unhygienic. In 2023, about 1,062 cats and dogs died in 4 months in shelters. A new law says that you cannot feed stray animals in public spaces. (Turkish Minute, Genc). 

Methodology and Thesis

I read nine articles such as "The Wild Dogs of Istanbul", “Istanbul Governor Bans Uncontrolled Feeding of Stray Dogs, Cites Health Risk”, and "Between Care and Violence : the Dogs of Istanbul". I interviewed two vets in Safranbulu, one in Konya, and a scuba shop in Kas, that had cat food outside. I also watched cats for an hour to observe how people treated them.

Overall, the main things that ordinary people can do to help the strays is to feed them, donate to different organizations that help the strays, and to take the hurt strays to the vet.

Section One: Feeding the Strays… and What the Government is Doing to Prevent it.

Recently, the government banned feeding strays at schools, hospitals, airports, mosques, parks, playgrounds, and, to make matters worse, even roadsides (Turkish minute). The governor of Istanbul said, “cats in Istanbul are not catching mice. Mice are eating food together with cats. This is not healthy. People should not feed animals in the first place they see.” 

 Early into my project, I read an article in which the author wrote that in his childhood, his mother would send him out to feed the local strays (Genc). When I interviewed two different vets in Safranbolu, they both said the same thing. Feeding the animals will be good enough to help the strays. Also in Safranbolu, I observed cats for an hour. It was at this time that I saw a Turkish lady put food into a box that was well made, and was for the stray cats and dogs in the town square. In Istanbul, there are vending machines in which you can put in coins and cat & dog food comes out.

 So, even though there is a law against it, it is clear that the government is not enforcing it as much as others.

Section Two: Support NGOs That Help Strays

You can help stray cats and dogs by supporting different organizations, one of which is called Four Legged City. The main thing that Four Legged City does is to help the strays in dangerous situations, such as after an earthquake. They take them to heal their injuries, neuter, and vaccinate them. After they are healed, the organization releases them. If they are too weak to go back onto the streets, they put them up for adoption. According to their website, the best way to help them is by either adopting, or donating to the cause. 

I was in Kaş, walking around to try to find a store that had cat food out front. I saw a scuba shop that had a LOT of cat food out. They also had a box in which you put in money to donate to an organization that helps the strays. In the summer, when all the tourists come, some tourists put the money in the box, so tourists do help. But then again, the shop owners said that the tourists sometimes buy a cat or dog for their kids to play with, but when they go to their home countries, they leave the cat on the street. That is a big problem.

I already explained that the government is trying to put all the strays in shelters. But, there are some non-government shelters. In Konya, I interviewed one of the vets working at one. We were not able to go into the shelter, but from the window, you could see an X-Ray machine, some dog treats, medical supplies, and a table for working on the strays. The vet I interviewed was next door,  a friend of the shelter owner, and vice president of the shelter. He currently has three stray cats in his home, two of which have broken legs. It is important to donate to these shelters because many of them lack funding.

Section Three: Taking the Strays to the Vet

What surprised me the most when I interviewed three different vets, is that they all said that sometimes ordinary people bring hurt stray animals to the vet, and then pay for it out of their pocket! One of the vets in Safranbulu said he is very grateful for the people who bring the strays, for it is important for their survival. The vet I interviewed in Konya said that he lets the people who bring them in pay only half the price, and he also believes helping the stray animals is very important. The scuba shop in Kaş said that they helped raise seven-hundred US dollars, out of their own pockets and through the box they put in front of their store, to help just one cat, who was sick. Incidentally, I got to meet the cat. This shows how determined people are to help the strays. 

Conclusion: Erdogan

What I learned from my research topic was that when observing stray cats and dogs, you learn about the politics going on in Turkey. Here are my reasons why. When talking to the scuba shop in Kas, they had very strong opinions about their President. He is pretty corrupt, and has been in power for 20 years. He is also called an authoritarian, which means that he has more power than the usual president. He has even jailed his political rivals. The scuba shop workers believe that Erdogan is trying to distract Turks by making all of the policies on the strays, so that they do not notice what other things he is doing. I learnt that by learning about the strays, you also learn about what the politics are like here in Turkey.  

Bibliography 

Anas Yadik YT. “Kedi - Full Documentary - No YouTube Premium (HD).” YouTube, 7 Jan. 2024, www.youtube.com/watch?v=h6EtKnc1mQ4 . Accessed 12 Feb. 2026.

Bekoff, Mark . “Why Istanbul’s Stray Dogs Have Become International Icons.” Psychology Today, 2021, www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/animal-emotions/202104/why-istanbuls-stray-dogs-have-become-international-icons .

Bianet. “Dog’s Brutal Killing in Konya Shelter Highlights Türkiye’s Stray Animal Issue.” Bianet.org, Bianet, 25 Nov. 2022, bianet.org/haber/dog-s-brutal-killing-in-konya-shelter-highlights-turkiye-s-stray-animal-issue-270550 . Accessed 12 Feb. 2026.

Bizhanova, Diana. “Street Cats Face Mass Roundups in Türkiye, Animal Rights Activists Raise Alarm.” Qazinform.com, “Inform,” 19 July 2025, qazinform.com/news/street-cats-face-mass-roundups-in-trkiye-animal-rights-activists-raise-alarm-8b6d3b . Accessed 12 Feb. 2026.

Dominik Wiley. “The Wild Dogs of Istanbul.” The Smart Set, 2024, www.thesmartset.com/article02291201/ . Accessed 12 Feb. 2026.

Duhme, Joscha . “Turkey Sets Its Sights on Dogs.” Deutscher Tierschutzbund, 21 May 2025, www.tierschutzbund.de/en/about-us/news/press/notification/turkey-sets-its-sights-on-dogs/ . Accessed 12 Feb. 2026.

Four Legged City. “Dört Ayaklı Şehir – Kent, Doğa, Hayvan Çalışmaları Derneği.” Dortayaklisehir.org, 2026, www.dortayaklisehir.org/en/home-page/ . Accessed 12 Feb. 2026.

Kaş Scuba Shop. 12 Feb. 2026.

Kaya Genc. “Opinion | Why Erdogan Is Going After Turkey’s Stray Dogs.” The New York Times, 23 July 2024, www.nytimes.com/2024/07/23/opinion/turkey-stray-dogs.html .

Konya Vet. 12 Feb. 2026.

Safranbolu Vet #1. 12 Feb. 2026.

Safranbolu Vet #2. 12 Feb. 2026.

Turkish Minute. “İstanbul Governor Bans Uncontrolled Feeding of Stray Dogs, Cites Health Risks - Turkish Minute.” Turkish Minute, 24 Nov. 2025, www.turkishminute.com/2025/11/24/istanbul-governor-bans-uncontrolled-feeding-of-stray-dogs-cites-health-risks/. Accessed 12 Feb. 2026.

Yildirmin, Mine . “Between Care and Violence: The Dogs of Istanbul.” Internationaleonline.org, 30 Sept. 2025, www.internationaleonline.org/contributions/between-care-and-violence-the-dogs-of-istanbul/. Accessed 12 Feb. 2026.