Are Cats in Istanbul Vaccinated?

The short and honest answer is no, most cats you see on the streets of Istanbul are not vaccinated.

In Istanbul, municipalities do provide rabies vaccination for dogs. If you see a street dog with a visible ear tag, it almost certainly means that dog has been captured, registered, and vaccinated against rabies. This system works reasonably well for dogs.

However, there is no comparable, systematic vaccination program for cats.

Municipalities generally do not vaccinate street cats on a routine basis. This applies not only to rabies but also to core combination vaccines, such as panleukopenia, calicivirus, and herpesvirus, as well as internal and external parasite treatments. These services are simply not part of standard municipal coverage for cats.

There is one limited exception: If a volunteer personally catches a cat and brings it to a municipal veterinary clinic, the clinic may administer a rabies shot and basic internal and external parasite treatment. Even then, this depends on capacity and local practice. Crucially, municipal clinics do not provide combination vaccines or other advanced vaccinations for cats under any circumstances.

As a result, the only way street cats receive proper vaccination is through private effort.

Cat Vaccination in Istanbul Is Carried Out by Volunteers, Not by a Public System

Volunteers, animal lovers, and rescuers pay for these vaccines out of their own pockets. I do this myself regularly. When I vaccinate cats, it is always at private veterinary clinics, and I personally cover the cost. This is common among volunteers across the city, but it only reaches a small fraction of the total cat population.

Because of this reality, the probability that a random street cat you see in Istanbul is fully vaccinated is quite low.

That said, context matters. As I have explained in previous articles, healthy, calm, non-aggressive cats in Istanbul pose a very low risk to humans. Rabies in cats is extremely rare in Türkiye, and casual contact such as petting a relaxed street cat is considered low risk from a public health perspective. Simple precautions, like avoiding bites or scratches and washing hands, are generally sufficient.

In short, most cats in Istanbul are not vaccinated, not because of neglect by individuals, but because there is no public system that covers them. Their health depends almost entirely on volunteers.