by Burak Akinci
KAYSERI, Türkiye, July 23 (Xinhua) -- Cat Town, a sanctuary for stray cats in central Türkiye, provides a comfortable living space for the furry animals.
Renowned for its stray cats that appear almost everywhere on the streets, Türkiye traditionally has a lot of cat lovers looking after them by providing shelter and food.
Wandering the streets of a Turkish city, it is common to see small containers by the sides of buildings made as shelters for the stray cats, and pet food doled out by the city's inhabitants for them.
The Kocasinan Municipality in the central province of Kayseri has gone further and established five months ago a 600-square-meter Cat Town to provide a sanctuary for these animals.
The felines have all they need in the sanctuary: playgrounds, bungalow huts, bridges, tunnels, climbing tracks, and scratching trees.
Stray cats that are brought to the facility are neutered and placed in a separate place to adapt before joining the other inhabitants of the facility.
Mehmet Cingil, a veterinarian, told Xinhua that the sanctuary provides a soothing place for cat lovers who are unable to keep pets at home and cultivates people's affection for cats.
According to the veterinarian, there are some 25 felines of different breeds in the sanctuary where kindergarten or primary school students visit on a daily basis.
"We want to instill to the youngsters the love for animals, how to show empathy, and how to care for them," said Mehmet Dogan, a municipal official.
"We try to explain to the youngsters that stray or not, cats and animals, in general, are not a nuisance," added Dogan.
As cats are often revered in Islam and preferred animals for domestication, it is considered a charitable deed to feed and care for them in Türkiye whose population is predominantly Muslim.
Amid the current heatwave, Turks are calling on social media for people to leave a bowl of fresh water for stray cats and dogs, who may suffer from dehydration and heat stroke.
