Istanbul is famous around the world for its cats. They are part of the city’s streets, neighborhoods, parks, shops, and everyday life.
But behind the beautiful photos and the image of Istanbul as a paradise for cats lies a more complicated reality.
Many street cats and dogs depend heavily on ordinary people and volunteers for food, veterinary care, vaccinations, parasite treatment, spaying and neutering, shelter, and emergency treatment.
For more than a decade, I have been helping stray cats and dogs in Istanbul by feeding them, rescuing animals in danger, providing veterinary treatment, arranging spaying and neutering, and giving animals a safe place to recover and live.
Today, together with a small group of volunteers, I help care for a large population of rescued and community cats and dogs, many of them around Bahçeköy and the Belgrad Forest area of Istanbul.
If you would like to help Istanbul’s animals directly, you can support our work through Patreon or Buy Me a Coffee.
- Patreon: www.patreon.com/ozgurnevres
- Buy Me a Coffee: https://buymeacoffee.com/ozgurnevres
Every contribution, large or small, helps us continue.
What We Do
Our work is very practical. We encounter real animals with real needs, and donations are used to meet those needs.
We provide:
- Food and clean water for cats and dogs in our care
- Veterinary treatment for sick and injured animals
- Spaying and neutering
- Vaccinations whenever possible
- Internal and external parasite treatment
- Emergency veterinary care
- Shelter and protection from bad weather
- Warm places for vulnerable cats during winter
- Care for kittens, elderly animals, disabled animals, and animals recovering from illness or surgery
- Long-term care for animals that cannot safely return to the streets
Some animals stay with us permanently. Others recover and are returned to a familiar and safe environment. When we find a suitable and trustworthy home, some are adopted.
And sometimes an animal simply needs a meal, medication, or a safe place to sleep for the night.
We help them according to what each individual animal needs.
Why Istanbul’s Street Animals Need Help
Istanbul has a long and beautiful tradition of living alongside community cats and dogs. Many people put out bowls of food and water, and some shopkeepers and residents look after the animals living around them.
But this does not mean that every street animal is safe or healthy.
Many cats are not routinely vaccinated. Municipal veterinary services can provide some assistance, but there is no comprehensive system that gives every street cat regular vaccinations, parasite treatment, veterinary examinations, and long-term medical care.
Much of this work is therefore carried out by individual volunteers and animal lovers.
A healthy adult cat may survive relatively well on the streets for years. A sick cat, an injured dog, an abandoned kitten, or an animal requiring surgery is in a very different situation.
Those are the animals for whom individual intervention can make the difference between suffering and recovery – and sometimes between life and death.
Our Sanctuary Near the Belgrad Forest
With the support of the owner of the land, we have created a small sanctuary near Istanbul’s Belgrad Forest where rescued animals can live or recover in relative safety.
There are dedicated areas for cats and several places for dogs.
For the cats, we have both protected and heated spaces. One enclosed section is particularly useful for animals that are sick, recovering from treatment or surgery, very young, disabled, or otherwise unable to live safely outside.
Healthy cats also have an area where they can come and go.
Some become permanent residents. Others appear for food, shelter, or a quiet place to sleep and later leave again.
The dogs have their own sheltered areas, and rescued dogs that are able to do so can also enjoy walks around the beautiful Belgrad Forest.
It isn’t a large institutional animal shelter.
It is simply a safe place created for animals who need one.
Rescue Is More Than Feeding
Food is one of our largest and most constant needs, but animal rescue involves much more than filling food bowls.
Population control through spaying and neutering is one of the most important things we do.
Feeding street animals without controlling reproduction cannot solve the underlying problem. Over the years, we have therefore had hundreds of cats and dogs spayed or neutered.
We also take sick and injured animals to veterinary clinics, provide medications, treat parasites, vaccinate animals whenever resources allow, and provide continuing care during recovery.
Some cases are simple.
Others can require weeks or even months of treatment.
We don’t abandon an animal simply because the treatment becomes difficult.
Why We Do It
There is no complicated philosophy behind what we do.
These animals are here.
They are alive.
They can experience hunger, pain, fear, comfort, safety, and affection.
And when an animal is suffering in front of us, and we have the ability to help, we believe helping is simply the right thing to do.
Not every street animal needs to be “rescued” from street life. Many community cats live perfectly happy lives outdoors when they have food, shelter, healthcare, and people looking after them.
Our goal is not to remove every cat from the streets.
Our goal is to reduce suffering.
That means feeding hungry animals, treating the sick, helping the injured, spaying and neutering to prevent uncontrolled reproduction, protecting vulnerable animals, and providing permanent sanctuary when returning an animal to the street would not be safe.
Where Does Your Donation Go?
We’re volunteer-run, so 100% of your donation goes directly to providing real care for cats and dogs in need – we don’t take salaries, wages, or admin fees.
Donations help us pay for things such as:
- Cat and dog food
- Veterinary examinations
- Medicines
- Vaccinations
- Spay and neuter operations
- Emergency treatment
- Parasite treatments
- Cat litter
- Medical and recovery supplies
- Heating and shelter expenses
- Maintenance of the animals’ living areas
There is no office staff, fundraising department, advertising department, executive salary, or administrative bureaucracy between your donation and the animals.
Your support goes toward caring for them.
Why You Can Trust Us
I understand that people should be careful when donating money online.
You should be.
Unfortunately, animal rescue photographs and emotional stories can be misused, and anyone asking strangers for financial support should be willing to show what they actually do.
That is why I try to make our work as visible as possible.
I have been documenting my rescue efforts publicly for years. You can see the cats and dogs we care for, follow individual rescue stories, see veterinary cases, watch the animals eating and recovering, and see everyday life at our sanctuary.
These are not anonymous stock photographs or animals appearing only on a donation page.
They have names. They have histories. Many of them appear repeatedly in my articles, photographs, videos, Patreon posts, and social media.
Some have been with us for years.
You can follow their lives.
Our Rescue Work Has Been Independently Featured
My animal rescue work has also received independent media coverage.
It has been featured by Newsweek, which told the story of how rescuing one pregnant cat eventually grew into caring for more than 100 stray animals.
Other individual rescues have been featured by publications including:
- NewsWeek
- The Dodo
- Love Meow
- Getty Images
- Yahoo News
- Cats.com
You do not have to rely only on what I say about my work. There is a public history behind it.
Real Animals, Real Stories
On City of Istanbul, I regularly write about the animals we care for and the realities faced by Istanbul’s street animals.
Some stories are happy.
Some are difficult.
You can read about rescued dogs such as Lady and Zeytin, see our cats accompanying us on walks through the Belgrad Forest, learn about our sanctuary, and read about the practical realities of vaccination, veterinary care, disease prevention, and caring for Istanbul’s street animals.
I believe transparency is one of the best ways to build trust.
Rather than simply asking you to donate, I invite you to look through these stories and see our work for yourself.
You Can Follow the Animals Even If You Cannot Donate
Financial support is incredibly useful, but you never need to donate to care about what we do.
You can follow our rescue stories, share them with other people, tell friends about our work, or simply help another animal somewhere in your own community.
Every act of kindness matters.
And if you do decide to support us financially, thank you.
It means more food in the bowls, more animals receiving veterinary treatment, more cats and dogs being spayed or neutered, and a better chance for an injured or sick animal to recover.
Support Our Cats and Dogs
If you would like to help us continue feeding, rescuing, treating, spaying/neutering, and protecting Istanbul’s cats and dogs, there are two ways to support us:
Support Us on Patreon
Patreon is ideal if you would like to provide regular monthly support.
I regularly share photos, videos, rescue updates, and everyday moments from the sanctuary there. You can also be a free member on Patreon!
Make a One-Time Donation with Buy Me a Coffee
If you prefer to make a one-time contribution, you can support the animals through Buy Me a Coffee.
And despite the name, you are not buying me coffee.
You are helping buy food and care for cats and dogs.
https://buymeacoffee.com/ozgurnevres
Thank You
Whether you donate, share our work, follow the animals, or simply stop to put out some food and water for a hungry animal, thank you for caring.
There are far more animals in need than any one person can help.
But for every animal we can help, the difference is enormous.
To that cat or dog, a bowl of food, a veterinary visit, a warm place to sleep, or a rescue from danger is not a small gesture.
It can be everything.
Thank you for helping us give Istanbul’s cats and dogs the care, safety, and dignity they deserve.