Notes

WEBVTT

1
00:01:13.406 --> 00:01:15.741
In Istanbul,
the cat is more than just a cat.

2
00:01:17.118 --> 00:01:21.915
The cat embodies
the indescribable chaos,

3
00:01:22.915 --> 00:01:25.168
the culture, and the uniqueness
that is the essence of Istanbul.

4
00:01:26.585 --> 00:01:31.632
Without the cat,
Istanbul would lose a part of its soul

5
00:01:31.632 --> 00:01:34.343
And there’s nothing
like it anywhere else on earth.

6
00:04:15.754 --> 00:04:18.757
She’s a real hunter now.
She wasn’t like that before.

7
00:04:19.175 --> 00:04:21.010
She changed after giving birth.

8
00:04:23.680 --> 00:04:24.766
Before that, all she did was sleep.

9
00:04:24.767 --> 00:04:27.767
Chilling here all day.

10
00:05:04.137 --> 00:05:08.016
Sometimes I talk to her.
And she actually talks back.

11
00:05:08.016 --> 00:05:10.852
She’s a solid character.

12
00:05:10.851 --> 00:05:12.811
She’ll stubbornly stand there.

13
00:05:12.812 --> 00:05:16.191
You’ll tell her to leave.
She won't, she’ll just stare.

14
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"I’m not leaving," she’ll say,
"where are you kicking me out to?"

15
00:05:18.586 --> 00:05:20.277
"I’ll be back anyway."

16
00:05:20.278 --> 00:05:22.572
"What are you trying to do, wise guy?"

17
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She’s really, you know, strong-willed.

18
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She’s got personality.

19
00:05:29.788 --> 00:05:35.335
Some cats really have character,
you can tell from their faces.

20
00:05:47.389 --> 00:05:49.932
I think it’s wrong
to trap them in a house...

21
00:05:49.932 --> 00:05:51.560
just so we can pet them.

22
00:05:51.560 --> 00:05:54.103
There are millions of them out
there, we pet them all we want.

23
00:05:55.355 --> 00:05:59.109
What matters is being on
the same frequency as them.

24
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To communicate with them.

25
00:06:00.901 --> 00:06:04.029
Besides, they can tell...
who likes them and who doesn’t.

26
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They notice.

27
00:06:07.408 --> 00:06:09.368
And they give off good energy.

28
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They absorb all your negative energy.

29
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We’re lucky. They do me good.

30
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It’s that time again.

31
00:06:20.713 --> 00:06:23.257
Time to cruise. She comes and goes.

32
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She came around one day.
I knew she'd been pregnant.

33
00:07:44.923 --> 00:07:46.632
It was obvious she had given birth.

34
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She led me to the back,
to show me her kittens.

35
00:07:50.928 --> 00:07:52.221
It’s so fascinating...

36
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they’re just like people.

37
00:08:09.572 --> 00:08:12.074
The love of animals
is a different kind of love.

38
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People who don’t love animals
can’t love people either.

39
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I know that much.

40
00:09:53.759 --> 00:09:54.802
Bengü!

41
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Bengü!

42
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Come. Come, girl.

43
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She was one of four kittens.

44
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She was the scrawniest one. And the ugliest.

45
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The other three left, she stayed.

46
00:10:31.589 --> 00:10:33.341
Sometimes she makes me angry.

47
00:10:33.341 --> 00:10:35.552
But why? I’ve never thought about it.

48
00:10:35.552 --> 00:10:38.012
I guess I must be in a bad mood.

49
00:10:38.513 --> 00:10:40.306
But I never hit her or anything.

50
00:10:40.306 --> 00:10:43.977
I tell her to leave but she never does.
She walks to the door and comes back.

51
00:10:51.942 --> 00:10:54.987
Bengü has been with us eight or nine years.

52
00:10:55.654 --> 00:10:58.699
She came here as a kitten… and never left.

53
00:10:59.366 --> 00:11:02.995
Bengü loves to be loved. Honestly.

54
00:11:02.995 --> 00:11:06.582
She loves it when
you pet her – she nearly passes out.

55
00:11:23.265 --> 00:11:27.519
It’s not the kind of
sappiness from old Turkish movies...

56
00:11:27.854 --> 00:11:29.355
but I do look for her.

57
00:11:29.688 --> 00:11:31.940
If I don’t see her, or hear her voice…

58
00:11:31.941 --> 00:11:34.652
if she’s not around
when I get here in the morning…

59
00:11:35.235 --> 00:11:37.149
I get worried and look for her.

60
00:11:37.150 --> 00:11:38.279
Maybe she is like a child.

61
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People miss their kids, right? I miss her.

62
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Bengü is very delicate.

63
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If you pet another cat,
she’ll get jealous and sulk.

64
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She’s very sensitive, Bengü.

65
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That’s it, that’s the spot.

66
00:11:57.926 --> 00:11:59.218
That’s the spot.

67
00:11:59.719 --> 00:12:01.763
She’s done for. And then here.

68
00:12:02.221 --> 00:12:03.722
And here.

69
00:12:09.979 --> 00:12:12.190
Look at her delight.

70
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You really know how to live.

71
00:12:23.451 --> 00:12:26.913
Bengü has given birth
but I haven’t seen where.

72
00:12:31.458 --> 00:12:35.087
Try attacking her kittens
and you’ll see another side of her.

73
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I’ve heard they'd always
keep a cat on board a ship.

74
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To absorb your excess energy.
I know soil does the same thing.

75
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Prayer beads do the trick for me.

76
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This cat is good for me too.

77
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Besides, we’ve gotten used to her.

78
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She’s become one of us.

79
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Coming and going unconditionally.

80
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And endless conversations too.

81
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THESE CUPS ARE FOR CATS AND DOGS.

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IF YOU DON’T WANT TO BE DESPERATE
FOR A CUP OF WATER IN THE NEXT LIFE...

83
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DON’T TOUCH THESE CUPS.

84
00:14:09.182 --> 00:14:12.143
They can’t just fly away like birds.

85
00:14:12.143 --> 00:14:16.939
It’s our responsibility
to take care of them as best as we can.

86
00:14:27.533 --> 00:14:30.702
It is said that
cats are aware of God’s existence…

87
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but that dogs are not.

88
00:14:33.706 --> 00:14:38.543
Dogs think people are God, but cats don’t.

89
00:14:38.543 --> 00:14:42.090
Cats know that people act
as middlemen to God’s will.

90
00:14:42.090 --> 00:14:44.716
They’re not ungrateful, they just know better.

91
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Petting a cat gives me
a peculiar sense of security.

92
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Even though
we don’t speak each other’s language...

93
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we immediately form a shared language.

94
00:15:35.725 --> 00:15:38.604
I imagine having a relationship with cats

95
00:15:38.604 --> 00:15:41.482
must be a lot like
being friends with aliens.

96
00:15:41.481 --> 00:15:46.111
You make contact
with a very different life form…

97
00:15:46.111 --> 00:15:48.780
open a line
of communication with one another...

98
00:15:48.780 --> 00:15:50.699
and start a dialogue.

99
00:16:09.134 --> 00:16:12.013
And they’re
very foreign to us, very different.

100
00:16:12.013 --> 00:16:15.807
Whether physically, mentally, or in capacity

101
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they’re very different.

102
00:16:17.559 --> 00:16:19.998
Yet, we’re able to have
a relationship with them.

103
00:18:09.505 --> 00:18:12.049
Of course
I can’t take the place of their mother…

104
00:18:12.048 --> 00:18:13.591
but I do what I can.

105
00:18:21.767 --> 00:18:24.729
I wonder if I should feed them again.

106
00:18:28.023 --> 00:18:30.108
Alright, alright, I’m gonna feed you.

107
00:18:31.443 --> 00:18:33.528
When they’re full, they don’t make a peep.

108
00:18:35.823 --> 00:18:37.325
They’re really hungry.

109
00:18:40.827 --> 00:18:44.706
Someone dumped them over by the shops.
Then they brought them over here.

110
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Relying on me being here.

111
00:18:52.964 --> 00:18:55.800
I had an incident with a cat,
it’ll shock you if I tell you.

112
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About fifteen years ago

113
00:19:00.806 --> 00:19:03.933
my boat was docked
over there, it sank in a storm.

114
00:19:03.933 --> 00:19:07.500
I had barely managed to pay for it.

115
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Sold whatever I had.

116
00:19:08.939 --> 00:19:10.608
But got the boat.

117
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I barely had it a week and the boat sinks.

118
00:19:15.278 --> 00:19:17.823
Then, I’m walking over by the rocks there…

119
00:19:19.240 --> 00:19:21.493
it’s extraordinary
what I’m about to tell you.

120
00:19:22.118 --> 00:19:26.374
I’m walking along, I see this
cat, pointing me to a wallet.

121
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A cat the same color as this one – no lie.

122
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Exactly that color.

123
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Meow, meow!
I thought, what’s up with this cat?

124
00:19:34.548 --> 00:19:36.218
Does it have rabies or something?

125
00:19:36.228 --> 00:19:37.218
I was a bit scared.

126
00:19:37.843 --> 00:19:39.764
So I went to have some tea.

127
00:19:39.843 --> 00:19:41.764
But something kept
bothering me to get the wallet.

128
00:19:41.763 --> 00:19:43.973
Even the tea guy asked if I was OK.

129
00:19:43.973 --> 00:19:46.810
I said, I don’t know,
something strange is going on.

130
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I got up, took a look inside the wallet…

131
00:19:50.940 --> 00:19:54.360
I swear, I needed 120 lira…
and there was 120 lira inside that wallet.

132
00:19:56.278 --> 00:19:59.155
Whoever doesn’t believe this
story is a heathen in my books.

133
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Can you imagine? God Almighty.

134
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What is that if not a godsend?

135
00:20:04.537 --> 00:20:06.872
That’s how my love for animals began.

136
00:20:06.872 --> 00:20:11.669
After I found that wallet,
I started caring for cats.

137
00:20:14.337 --> 00:20:16.882
But taking care of cats isn't easy.

138
00:20:18.384 --> 00:20:21.429
I have to give them milk,
if I’m gonna keep them alive.

139
00:20:22.096 --> 00:20:25.182
These guys are quite big, they should survive.

140
00:20:25.849 --> 00:20:28.852
But neglect them for
a couple of days, they’d surely die.

141
00:20:30.938 --> 00:20:33.941
They survived in that box
because it’s warm in there.

142
00:20:33.941 --> 00:20:36.610
And that chubby one
came along and became a mother to them.

143
00:20:37.653 --> 00:20:40.865
He keeps them warm.
I guess they think he’s their mother too.

144
00:20:40.865 --> 00:20:43.032
Both a father and a mother.

145
00:20:43.867 --> 00:20:45.994
He’s both a father and a mother to them.

146
00:20:47.328 --> 00:20:50.124
- You have two children at home, right?
- Yes, I have two.

147
00:20:50.124 --> 00:20:52.543
So you know what it’s like to be a parent.

148
00:20:52.542 --> 00:20:54.210
Oh, it’s tough.

149
00:23:49.636 --> 00:23:53.557
Whether we like it or not,
there are rats that live here by the sea.

150
00:23:53.557 --> 00:23:58.187
And because we’re people,
we don’t give them space to live.

151
00:23:58.936 --> 00:24:01.939
But admittedly, they are a pest...

152
00:24:01.940 --> 00:24:04.942
and it’s not good for them
to be around where people eat.

153
00:24:09.823 --> 00:24:13.535
We considered rat poison,
we’ve used that in the past.

154
00:24:13.535 --> 00:24:17.748
But just when we decided
to let the rats die on their own…

155
00:24:17.748 --> 00:24:21.585
this little lion of a cat showed up.

156
00:24:23.252 --> 00:24:28.591
He takes care of them at
night, as nature dictates.

157
00:25:25.773 --> 00:25:29.444
We didn't tell him to hunt the rats,
he took it upon himself.

158
00:25:29.444 --> 00:25:32.990
To tell you the truth, he earns his keep.

159
00:25:32.990 --> 00:25:38.162
You know the saying,
"do justice to one’s love"?

160
00:25:38.162 --> 00:25:41.874
That’s what he does.
He does justice to the love he gets.

161
00:25:42.708 --> 00:25:44.042
We’re grateful to him.

162
00:26:42.058 --> 00:26:43.935
Life is beautiful.

163
00:26:43.935 --> 00:26:46.771
If you know how to live.

164
00:26:46.771 --> 00:26:50.107
You can love if your heart is open.

165
00:26:52.653 --> 00:26:56.073
Everything is beautiful
when you look at it with love.

166
00:26:56.073 --> 00:27:02.371
If you can enjoy
the presence of a cat, a bird, a flower…

167
00:27:02.954 --> 00:27:07.416
what can I say,
all the world will be yours.

168
00:27:33.277 --> 00:27:35.946
She is the toughest of all the females.

169
00:27:37.905 --> 00:27:39.991
Trouble for all the fishermen.

170
00:27:40.701 --> 00:27:42.326
A fish thief.

171
00:27:42.326 --> 00:27:44.746
Arch enemy of the dogs.

172
00:27:45.705 --> 00:27:49.083
She’ll chase any of them, even pit bulls.

173
00:27:54.839 --> 00:27:57.509
She's the neighborhood psychopath.

174
00:28:08.854 --> 00:28:10.939
She doesn’t like soft love.

175
00:28:13.025 --> 00:28:16.361
She likes tough love.

176
00:28:25.996 --> 00:28:34.421
She’ll start from the top of the church
and patrol the whole place.

177
00:28:34.755 --> 00:28:37.132
She’s a very interesting animal.

178
00:28:38.342 --> 00:28:41.011
The only thing she’ll steal is fish.

179
00:28:41.010 --> 00:28:43.471
She’ll stand in front
of the fish vendors over there

180
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refusing to leave
even if they shoo her away.

181
00:28:46.266 --> 00:28:49.102
She won’t take anchovies
or mackerel either, she prefers bluefish.

182
00:28:49.685 --> 00:28:53.522
Then she’ll make
the fishermen chase her all the way here.

183
00:29:05.076 --> 00:29:07.078
She likes to live a life of luxury.

184
00:29:10.289 --> 00:29:13.376
She even makes her husband respect her.

185
00:29:14.461 --> 00:29:15.545
She chases him off.

186
00:29:30.935 --> 00:29:32.770
She’s leaving so he can eat.

187
00:29:38.109 --> 00:29:40.861
Now, Osman Pasha gets his turn.

188
00:30:15.439 --> 00:30:18.400
She doesn’t want to
lose him to anyone else either.

189
00:30:19.651 --> 00:30:24.239
Girls prettier than Psycho
have come around, right?

190
00:30:24.990 --> 00:30:29.076
There’s an instinctive jealousy.

191
00:30:44.175 --> 00:30:46.970
She’s like a vicious housewife.

192
00:30:46.970 --> 00:30:50.598
A jealous housewife
who doesn’t leave her husband alone.

193
00:30:53.351 --> 00:30:55.562
And doesn’t let
anyone else near him either.

194
00:31:15.915 --> 00:31:20.921
She comes around
when she wants to be loved.

195
00:31:20.921 --> 00:31:23.215
Gets her fill of love and leaves.

196
00:31:27.885 --> 00:31:29.721
But I can’t do as I please.

197
00:31:29.721 --> 00:31:31.722
I grabbed her tail, she bit my hand.

198
00:31:33.682 --> 00:31:35.810
But she does as she wishes.

199
00:31:35.810 --> 00:31:38.687
That’s very important to me.

200
00:31:38.688 --> 00:31:44.069
That she never compromises her freedom.

201
00:31:47.154 --> 00:31:49.074
She has a fighting spirit.

202
00:31:50.241 --> 00:31:51.867
That’s what I like.

203
00:31:53.537 --> 00:31:57.374
She has qualities that people should have.

204
00:32:22.941 --> 00:32:26.111
Their posture feels very feminine to me.

205
00:32:26.111 --> 00:32:30.949
I don’t see that elegance in women anymore.

206
00:32:30.949 --> 00:32:33.826
We’ve lost that,
but cats carry themselves so well.

207
00:32:43.586 --> 00:32:47.757
Especially in this country,
in a city like this...

208
00:32:47.757 --> 00:32:51.344
it’s very difficult
to be a woman, to be female.

209
00:32:51.344 --> 00:32:56.057
To express your femininity,
to be defiant with your femininity.

210
00:33:00.936 --> 00:33:03.772
Being female…

211
00:33:03.772 --> 00:33:06.442
and if you’re a "pretty little thing"…

212
00:33:06.442 --> 00:33:09.695
you feel like you have
to account for all of it.

213
00:33:27.297 --> 00:33:32.670
When you’re alone for long periods
your animal instincts get sharper.

214
00:33:32.673 --> 00:33:33.677
I really believe that.

215
00:33:33.700 --> 00:33:37.432
Maybe it’s a quality that
should be developed more in all of us.

216
00:33:37.432 --> 00:33:41.185
As if it’s better to be so human, so modern.

217
00:33:41.185 --> 00:33:45.231
There’s a power you can feel
within yourself, of a wild creature.

218
00:33:45.231 --> 00:33:47.983
I think everyone needs
to discover that in themselves.

219
00:33:52.821 --> 00:33:54.657
Cats are satisfied with their existence.

220
00:33:54.657 --> 00:33:58.077
And they’re very sure of their character.

221
00:33:58.077 --> 00:33:59.205
But it’s not enough for us.

222
00:33:59.209 --> 00:34:01.206
We always want more.

223
00:34:01.205 --> 00:34:04.541
That mentality poisons us
and destroys everything.

224
00:34:04.541 --> 00:34:08.545
And maybe in the near
future, in two or three years

225
00:34:08.545 --> 00:34:11.340
we may no longer see cats on these streets.

226
00:35:43.516 --> 00:35:46.519
They all have personalities, like people.

227
00:35:46.518 --> 00:35:48.312
If you look closely, we’re the same.

228
00:35:48.813 --> 00:35:52.901
Some want affection,
others will tell you all their troubles.

229
00:35:52.900 --> 00:35:55.986
Some are discreet,
won’t talk about anything.

230
00:35:55.987 --> 00:35:58.322
Others are ambitious.

231
00:35:58.322 --> 00:36:01.826
And some are pompous...

232
00:36:01.826 --> 00:36:05.871
like a lady
who can’t be bothered to say hello.

233
00:36:08.666 --> 00:36:10.668
Cats are exactly the same.

234
00:36:10.668 --> 00:36:15.005
Some won’t even look when I call to them.

235
00:36:15.005 --> 00:36:18.342
I believe they share
the same traits as people.

236
00:36:22.889 --> 00:36:24.224
Deniz!

237
00:36:25.599 --> 00:36:26.893
Deniz!

238
00:36:27.434 --> 00:36:29.395
He was a tiny little thing.

239
00:36:29.396 --> 00:36:31.856
He looked down at me from up there.

240
00:36:31.856 --> 00:36:34.651
We wondered
where this beat-up little guy came from.

241
00:36:35.275 --> 00:36:37.361
I brought him down from the roof.

242
00:36:37.362 --> 00:36:39.989
Who knows where he came from.

243
00:36:42.324 --> 00:36:44.618
Being a young male,
he attacked us at first.

244
00:36:45.036 --> 00:36:52.710
A couple of months later,
he started approaching us for food.

245
00:36:52.710 --> 00:36:59.634
Once we could stroke him, he was tamed.

246
00:37:02.387 --> 00:37:06.099
Now he’s become a very friendly cat.

247
00:38:10.163 --> 00:38:15.418
It all changed over the last
five years, when these buildings went up.

248
00:38:16.878 --> 00:38:18.750
It used to be all green here.

249
00:38:18.757 --> 00:38:25.762
There were orchards,
and gardens where they’d grow crops.

250
00:38:28.639 --> 00:38:32.018
When these buildings went up,
it all disappeared – no nature left.

251
00:38:54.123 --> 00:38:56.416
Oh dear.

252
00:38:56.416 --> 00:38:58.920
Look at them, seven plump kittens!

253
00:39:00.588 --> 00:39:03.883
These kittens...
it’ll be a shame if they tear this place down.

254
00:39:04.217 --> 00:39:06.344
I don’t know what we’ll do.

255
00:39:06.969 --> 00:39:09.221
This will be a major road.

256
00:39:09.931 --> 00:39:12.349
They want to connect these buildings.

257
00:39:19.648 --> 00:39:23.527
We’re more worried
about what’ll happen to the cats

258
00:39:23.527 --> 00:39:25.529
than what might happen to us.

259
00:39:26.030 --> 00:39:31.494
If this area gets demolished,
and that's likely, they won't have anyone.

260
00:39:40.420 --> 00:39:42.380
At some point, they miss the streets.

261
00:39:42.380 --> 00:39:44.548
They can find some earth out here.

262
00:39:45.215 --> 00:39:47.384
To do their business.

263
00:39:47.802 --> 00:39:50.346
It’s harder to do that
in a house with cat litter.

264
00:39:50.346 --> 00:39:52.806
But out here they dig it up.

265
00:39:53.766 --> 00:39:55.268
Oh no, where did he come from?

266
00:39:55.268 --> 00:39:58.396
- An older cat got to him in the backyard.
- Oh sweetie.

267
00:39:58.396 --> 00:40:01.649
- I immediately thought of you.
- What are we going to do with you?

268
00:40:03.067 --> 00:40:04.902
You poor, poor thing.

269
00:40:12.534 --> 00:40:14.244
Is he gone, I wonder. Is he dead?

270
00:40:26.590 --> 00:40:30.510
He must have slammed him against
the ground… got attacked by a bigger cat.

271
00:40:30.510 --> 00:40:32.929
It’s a fact of nature. It happens.

272
00:41:25.900 --> 00:41:27.902
This one was my first child.

273
00:41:27.902 --> 00:41:31.655
She was special
not only because she was my first

274
00:41:31.655 --> 00:41:34.116
but also because she had great character.

275
00:41:34.117 --> 00:41:35.868
She died of breast cancer.

276
00:41:37.452 --> 00:41:43.041
I would dress her
to keep her from licking her wounds.

277
00:41:43.960 --> 00:41:46.586
I tried very hard
to find a cat like her again...

278
00:41:46.586 --> 00:41:50.967
but I came to realize that it
was futile, that she was one of a kind.

279
00:41:51.675 --> 00:41:55.011
My longing for her...
let’s just say if there is afterlife,

280
00:41:55.012 --> 00:41:57.597
I want to meet her again, not my grandmother.

281
00:42:05.523 --> 00:42:07.858
We cook twenty pounds
of chicken every day.

282
00:42:08.860 --> 00:42:11.570
We don’t feed them
dried cat food or anything artificial.

283
00:42:27.043 --> 00:42:33.216
My therapist says I try to heal
my own wounds by healing theirs.

284
00:42:33.217 --> 00:42:37.262
By feeding them
and tending to their needs.

285
00:42:38.222 --> 00:42:43.394
My wounds must be so deeply rooted…

286
00:42:43.393 --> 00:42:47.355
they still haven’t healed despite all this.

287
00:42:47.690 --> 00:42:50.443
I guess I’ll heal when they heal.

288
00:42:58.909 --> 00:43:02.370
There was a time
I had great difficulty dealing with death.

289
00:43:02.704 --> 00:43:06.250
I accept death as a reality...

290
00:43:07.293 --> 00:43:10.378
but I have difficulty
dealing with the longing.

291
00:43:10.378 --> 00:43:12.380
That’s my problem with death.

292
00:43:22.057 --> 00:43:24.559
Now we’ll go out
to distribute the morning meal.

293
00:43:25.101 --> 00:43:30.065
This is our daily routine,
seven days a week, including Sundays.

294
00:43:33.777 --> 00:43:36.112
Wait honey, wait.

295
00:43:37.824 --> 00:43:39.784
Come, come my girl.

296
00:43:40.617 --> 00:43:43.119
My little darlings.

297
00:43:48.291 --> 00:43:49.960
Come, I’ve got your food!

298
00:43:56.800 --> 00:44:02.097
There were sixty
but five died in the last two weeks.

299
00:44:02.764 --> 00:44:04.432
And it’s always cancer.

300
00:44:05.643 --> 00:44:08.980
We say it happens to people,
but it happens to animals too.

301
00:44:08.980 --> 00:44:11.983
We eat and drink the same -
the same food, the same water.

302
00:44:21.992 --> 00:44:24.327
We've raised a lot of cats.

303
00:44:24.327 --> 00:44:28.791
Some grew old and died,
quite a few got run over.

304
00:44:29.125 --> 00:44:34.255
We learned that something you
love can one day cease to exist.

305
00:44:34.255 --> 00:44:39.719
We adopted a sense of stoicism that way.

306
00:44:40.219 --> 00:44:42.722
We had a cat cemetery in the backyard.

307
00:44:42.722 --> 00:44:46.517
My older brother and I would
bury them with great ceremony.

308
00:44:46.516 --> 00:44:50.353
And because we’d see crosses in cowboy movies

309
00:44:50.353 --> 00:44:53.773
like that last scene
in The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

310
00:44:53.773 --> 00:44:55.567
we thought they looked impressive.

311
00:44:55.568 --> 00:44:58.821
We’re not Christian,
but they look cool in movies

312
00:44:58.820 --> 00:45:03.659
and because we weren’t
about to engrave tiny gravestones

313
00:45:03.659 --> 00:45:06.454
we’d make crosses out of twigs.

314
00:45:06.454 --> 00:45:09.832
Then one day our father saw us
and freaked out over the crosses.

315
00:45:09.831 --> 00:45:11.583
Immediately sent us to Qur’an school

316
00:45:11.583 --> 00:45:14.628
so that we wouldn’t suddenly turn Christian.

317
00:45:14.628 --> 00:45:17.380
We told him not to worry, obviously.

318
00:45:18.215 --> 00:45:23.095
If I hadn’t had cats,
I would’ve had a very troubled childhood

319
00:45:23.094 --> 00:45:26.681
because interacting
only with people is not enough…

320
00:45:26.681 --> 00:45:29.184
and especially difficult with grown-ups.

321
00:45:36.067 --> 00:45:40.237
I love cats who hang out in
vintage stores, "hmm the smell of paper"…

322
00:45:40.237 --> 00:45:42.239
stretching out among old LPs.

323
00:45:43.157 --> 00:45:45.409
It’s especially satisfying when I’m sketching

324
00:45:45.409 --> 00:45:48.079
she sleeps in the drawer
like a vintage store cat.

325
00:45:48.079 --> 00:45:50.373
I check the drawer once in a while…

326
00:45:50.373 --> 00:45:53.250
"OK, she’s still asleep"…
And I carry on working.

327
00:45:53.250 --> 00:45:55.460
Because drawing is such isolating work,

328
00:45:55.460 --> 00:45:58.296
a sleeping cat can really give you comfort.

329
00:46:05.762 --> 00:46:09.599
Any ungrateful behavior on their
part is really an act of sincerity.

330
00:46:09.599 --> 00:46:11.935
They don’t need to apologize.

331
00:46:11.936 --> 00:46:15.773
I guess there are people
who expect that from a cat.

332
00:46:15.773 --> 00:46:20.193
"I gave you all that food
and you won’t even sit on my lap."

333
00:46:20.193 --> 00:46:22.697
A relationship where they
expect a return on an investment.

334
00:46:32.539 --> 00:46:37.836
Down the hill in Cihangir, there used
to be a big harbor during the Ottoman era.

335
00:46:37.836 --> 00:46:42.340
Ships from Norway
and elsewhere would come with cargo.

336
00:46:42.340 --> 00:46:48.054
Sailors would keep cats
on board to fend off rats.

337
00:46:48.054 --> 00:46:50.348
As cargo was being unloaded,
cats would get off the boat

338
00:46:50.349 --> 00:46:52.476
thinking that they’d made it to land.

339
00:46:52.476 --> 00:46:55.479
And trek up to the top of the hill.

340
00:46:55.478 --> 00:46:59.482
Later, they’d miss the boat
and begin life here in Cihangir.

341
00:46:59.483 --> 00:47:01.527
Now, there are
countless kinds of cats in this area.

342
00:47:01.527 --> 00:47:06.157
Norwegian cats,
and cats from all over the world.

343
00:47:06.157 --> 00:47:07.615
There’s a lot of variety.

344
00:47:11.996 --> 00:47:19.170
Later, the first Ottoman sewers
were built in this part of the city.

345
00:47:20.336 --> 00:47:27.677
And giant rats would terrorize residents.

346
00:47:27.677 --> 00:47:31.264
That’s why every house had a cat.

347
00:47:31.264 --> 00:47:34.684
To fend off the giant sewer rats.

348
00:48:24.568 --> 00:48:27.696
His name was "Milkman"
when he first showed up.

349
00:48:27.695 --> 00:48:31.324
He’d come around to drink milk and leave.

350
00:48:31.659 --> 00:48:35.663
He was barely a year old.
He hadn't been neutered.

351
00:48:36.496 --> 00:48:38.581
Then he started showing up all beat up.

352
00:48:39.083 --> 00:48:42.211
He got into fights
with other males over the ladies.

353
00:48:42.210 --> 00:48:45.797
He got kicked one time and
showed up with a dislocated leg.

354
00:48:47.382 --> 00:48:50.343
He was bitten by a dog and
showed up with a hole in his butt.

355
00:48:50.719 --> 00:48:54.889
But it never ruins
his mood – he’s always happy.

356
00:48:55.391 --> 00:48:59.728
A neighbor of mine started
calling him carefree, happy-go-lucky.

357
00:49:00.563 --> 00:49:02.189
So the name Gamsiz – carefree – stuck.

358
00:49:06.152 --> 00:49:10.322
Our vet Elif down the road
thought Gamsiz was in love with her.

359
00:49:10.322 --> 00:49:13.534
Because at one point we were making
a trip to the vet every two weeks.

360
00:49:13.534 --> 00:49:15.286
Constantly getting in trouble.

361
00:49:15.952 --> 00:49:21.083
He’d have an accident, get hurt,
or develop a fungal infection.

362
00:49:21.083 --> 00:49:24.920
For months,
we visited the vet every two weeks.

363
00:49:25.295 --> 00:49:28.464
Once he spent a whole winter at the vet.

364
00:49:30.342 --> 00:49:32.635
Doesn’t that get expensive?

365
00:49:33.137 --> 00:49:36.640
I guess it does.
But we all have running tabs at the vet.

366
00:49:36.639 --> 00:49:39.350
There’s a bunch of us in the neighborhood.

367
00:49:39.976 --> 00:49:44.147
We have an open tab
at pretty much every vet.

368
00:49:46.317 --> 00:49:49.945
We also collect donations
which help with these expenses.

369
00:49:51.905 --> 00:49:55.159
Whatever is in our tip box goes to the cats.

370
00:50:18.556 --> 00:50:21.559
Gamsiz is a bit of a thug.

371
00:50:21.559 --> 00:50:24.605
He’s feisty,
the tough guy of the neighborhood.

372
00:50:30.360 --> 00:50:38.786
But, if you wanted go out at night,
he’s the one you’d want to go out with.

373
00:50:38.786 --> 00:50:40.579
He’s that guy. He’s fun.

374
00:50:52.048 --> 00:50:54.384
There’s Laçin
across the street – he really likes her.

375
00:50:55.760 --> 00:51:02.643
She’s told me that he comes
to her window and demands to be let in.

376
00:51:02.976 --> 00:51:06.896
Or he’ll go up to the front door
if he wants to enter the building.

377
00:51:06.896 --> 00:51:09.357
She says sometimes
he even spends the night.

378
00:51:11.485 --> 00:51:14.070
When he wants sausages, he goes to Filiz.

379
00:51:15.155 --> 00:51:16.990
Everyone offers something different…

380
00:51:16.990 --> 00:51:19.784
but there are also the people
that cats choose for themselves.

381
00:51:19.784 --> 00:51:21.577
Gamsiz has a wide range.

382
00:51:21.577 --> 00:51:26.791
I’m the main human in his life…
others are supporting actors.

383
00:51:34.465 --> 00:51:41.014
Because I’m on the first floor,
it’s easy for cats to come up here.

384
00:51:41.849 --> 00:51:46.729
My place has many visitors
but I try not to let them in

385
00:51:46.728 --> 00:51:48.771
because I have a cat of my own.

386
00:51:48.771 --> 00:51:51.900
Murat doesn’t take care of just one cat.

387
00:51:51.900 --> 00:51:55.945
He cares for many
and knows all their characters.

388
00:51:55.945 --> 00:52:00.616
I met Gamsiz at the café,
he was lying on the couch.

389
00:52:00.617 --> 00:52:06.123
And when I tried to sit down,
he smacked me. That’s how we met.

390
00:52:06.123 --> 00:52:08.666
After that,
I smothered him with love, of course.

391
00:52:09.251 --> 00:52:12.211
They take note of that immediately, you know.

392
00:52:12.211 --> 00:52:16.967
They remember if you made a connection.

393
00:52:17.925 --> 00:52:21.471
As a result, he came up here.
At first I didn’t let him in.

394
00:52:21.472 --> 00:52:24.641
But unlike anyone else,
Gamsiz stands sideways.

395
00:52:24.974 --> 00:52:26.184
Like this.

396
00:52:26.184 --> 00:52:27.853
A single paw in the air.

397
00:52:30.646 --> 00:52:33.483
He seems to be knocking like this.

398
00:52:34.985 --> 00:52:36.987
He’s always like that.

399
00:52:36.987 --> 00:52:40.865
Whereas all other cats,
including mine, stand facing forward.

400
00:52:40.865 --> 00:52:45.329
But this guy, whether he comes
up to the front or back window

401
00:52:45.329 --> 00:52:47.456
always has this sideways stance.

402
00:52:47.456 --> 00:52:49.875
He strikes this charming pose.

403
00:52:50.376 --> 00:52:55.506
And with that paw,
he somehow gets your attention.

404
00:52:55.505 --> 00:52:58.966
If you ignore him,
he gets even more persistent.

405
00:52:58.967 --> 00:53:03.806
Especially if you’re right
where he wants to come in

406
00:53:03.806 --> 00:53:09.186
he gets really rowdy
and eventually forces you to let him in.

407
00:53:09.186 --> 00:53:11.438
I respect him a lot because of that.

408
00:53:11.980 --> 00:53:16.402
What’s really special
about him is that he’s a go-getter.

409
00:53:16.402 --> 00:53:18.903
Once he makes up his mind about something...

410
00:53:19.237 --> 00:53:22.490
let’s say he’s decided
to come here and eat Gece’s food

411
00:53:22.490 --> 00:53:25.451
that’s his mission for the day.

412
00:53:25.452 --> 00:53:27.121
There’s no stopping him.

413
00:53:31.500 --> 00:53:33.876
Come, Gece!

414
00:53:36.838 --> 00:53:40.592
OK, that’s enough. Everybody out.

415
00:53:48.516 --> 00:53:52.270
Ginger is new to the neighborhood.
We’ve only recently started seeing him.

416
00:53:57.108 --> 00:54:01.447
But he’s really determined
to take over the neighborhood.

417
00:54:58.670 --> 00:55:02.132
He’s fighting over territory.

418
00:55:02.132 --> 00:55:03.425
"My hood."

419
00:55:03.925 --> 00:55:07.804
"I might be new here,
but I’m a cat of strength."

420
00:55:07.804 --> 00:55:09.597
"I’m a cat of quality."

421
00:55:09.597 --> 00:55:13.684
"You’ll see,
I’ll gain control of this territory."

422
00:55:13.684 --> 00:55:15.686
That’s his attitude.

423
00:56:45.068 --> 00:56:48.405
That’s what I first admired about cats…

424
00:56:48.822 --> 00:56:52.617
the way I admired superheroes
like Spiderman or Superman...

425
00:56:52.617 --> 00:56:55.077
I believed cats had superpowers too.

426
00:56:55.536 --> 00:57:00.041
I never stopped being in awe of them.

427
00:57:04.338 --> 00:57:09.593
Having nine lives,
or being able to land on all four feet…

428
00:57:09.592 --> 00:57:12.428
If only we could land on all fours.

429
00:57:12.429 --> 00:57:16.642
We land on two and they snap like twigs.

430
00:58:35.177 --> 00:58:36.846
I had to leave early yesterday.

431
00:58:36.847 --> 00:58:40.517
I was sad I couldn’t bring enough food.

432
00:58:40.516 --> 00:58:45.980
I couldn’t eat my dinner
with a clear conscience.

433
00:58:46.481 --> 00:58:49.151
It’s overwhelming
when I think of them back there.

434
00:58:50.443 --> 00:58:53.779
I have a lot of friends
who know what I do here...

435
00:58:54.322 --> 00:58:56.282
but they don’t understand
why I take it upon myself.

436
00:58:56.282 --> 00:58:58.993
They think God will provide for them.

437
00:58:59.702 --> 00:59:02.706
I say "Sure, but I’m the middleman."

438
00:59:02.706 --> 00:59:05.541
Besides, it’s better than
spending my time at the café.

439
00:59:50.128 --> 00:59:52.338
Even though he’s young, he prefers fish.

440
00:59:52.963 --> 00:59:55.467
One of them has an eye infection.

441
00:59:57.885 --> 01:00:01.847
So I have to give him antibiotic drops.

442
01:00:02.556 --> 01:00:04.934
We've picked up a few things
after so many trips to the vet.

443
01:00:18.405 --> 01:00:19.990
I know all of them.

444
01:00:19.990 --> 01:00:24.119
I know this one’s mother,
her aunts, all five generations.

445
01:00:24.663 --> 01:00:26.289
I remember all her family members.

446
01:00:28.291 --> 01:00:31.378
The one that just gave birth...

447
01:00:31.378 --> 01:00:34.297
she’s this one’s little sister.

448
01:00:35.590 --> 01:00:39.135
During winter,
they find shelter under those rocks.

449
01:00:39.552 --> 01:00:43.514
They stay alive with the warmth of the sea.

450
01:00:44.056 --> 01:00:46.475
Other than that, they don’t have a home.

451
01:00:50.813 --> 01:00:54.775
There’s one missing here.
The one that just gave birth.

452
01:00:55.110 --> 01:00:57.195
Let’s see if she’ll come when I call.

453
01:01:16.005 --> 01:01:18.591
I had a nervous breakdown in 2002.

454
01:01:18.592 --> 01:01:20.885
That’s when I got more involved with cats.

455
01:01:23.346 --> 01:01:25.181
Doing this cured me.

456
01:01:31.438 --> 01:01:34.691
I was really caught up, I was really lost.

457
01:01:35.025 --> 01:01:37.735
This truly is therapy.

458
01:01:38.527 --> 01:01:41.989
Now I’m happy, honestly. Thanks to them.

459
01:01:41.989 --> 01:01:44.575
I wouldn’t be otherwise.
No drug was able to save me.

460
01:01:48.579 --> 01:01:51.916
They’re all waiting for me here.
Their feeding time is near.

461
01:01:52.876 --> 01:01:56.046
I believe I got healthy
again by taking care of them.

462
01:01:56.045 --> 01:01:59.048
Before, I couldn’t talk or laugh.

463
01:01:59.715 --> 01:02:02.384
But now...

464
01:02:03.010 --> 01:02:06.221
let’s just say,
they make you fall in love again.

465
01:04:02.547 --> 01:04:05.967
Just as you notice the cat,
the cat notices you.

466
01:04:05.967 --> 01:04:07.844
It’s very mutual.

467
01:04:08.177 --> 01:04:11.722
I think that mesmerizes
me a little, that it’s so reciprocal.

468
01:04:12.514 --> 01:04:14.016
It’s like a mirror.

469
01:06:24.480 --> 01:06:26.900
Duman – Smokey –
has been with us for two years.

470
01:06:28.067 --> 01:06:30.277
My guess is that
he was kicked out of some place,

471
01:06:31.028 --> 01:06:33.739
because the first night he showed up

472
01:06:33.739 --> 01:06:36.074
I saw him coming down the street

473
01:06:36.074 --> 01:06:37.910
he was complaining very loudly.

474
01:06:55.177 --> 01:06:57.304
He won’t let himself
be a pet like other cats.

475
01:06:59.014 --> 01:07:02.184
He never harasses our customers for food.

476
01:07:02.184 --> 01:07:05.938
In time, I came to realize
that he was different to other cats.

477
01:07:05.938 --> 01:07:08.440
He’s a cat with manners.

478
01:07:08.440 --> 01:07:11.777
No matter how hungry he is,
he won’t come in, even if the door is open.

479
01:07:13.820 --> 01:07:18.034
He lets us know
he’s hungry by pawing at the window.

480
01:07:18.909 --> 01:07:20.577
He’s a bit of a glutton.

481
01:07:23.873 --> 01:07:29.378
He knows that his favorite food is back here

482
01:07:29.378 --> 01:07:35.467
so he gets excited
every time he sees us here.

483
01:07:39.264 --> 01:07:42.099
He was quite overweight...
nearly 12 pounds when he first showed up.

484
01:07:42.599 --> 01:07:46.353
As our vet also recommended,
we decided to put him on a diet.

485
01:07:46.688 --> 01:07:50.358
We fed him
less and less food or only smoked meats.

486
01:07:53.735 --> 01:07:57.406
We give him some Manchego
or a softer cheese like Emmental.

487
01:07:57.864 --> 01:07:59.992
A little bit of smoked turkey.

488
01:08:01.119 --> 01:08:05.623
He can also be very
picky about the meat he eats.

489
01:08:06.039 --> 01:08:10.210
He used to love roast beef,
but now, he only wants turkey.

490
01:08:35.360 --> 01:08:37.113
I’d say he’s quite happy.

491
01:08:37.447 --> 01:08:41.117
He does get around a lot, though.

492
01:08:41.117 --> 01:08:44.662
But he never hangs out with other cats.

493
01:08:44.662 --> 01:08:46.956
He’s always alone. Always alone.

494
01:08:47.622 --> 01:08:50.292
There have been times
we’ve gotten him out of dumpsters, too.

495
01:08:51.461 --> 01:08:54.630
Beneath that aristocratic
appearance, there is still a street kid.

496
01:09:36.046 --> 01:09:40.009
In a way,
street animals are our cultural symbol.

497
01:09:40.009 --> 01:09:45.180
Istanbul and cats...
So many cats roaming the streets of a city.

498
01:09:45.180 --> 01:09:47.934
They’ve become
a distinct trait of Istanbul.

499
01:09:53.773 --> 01:09:56.192
The streets seem empty to me without cats…

500
01:09:57.109 --> 01:09:59.987
but it's a strange situation.

501
01:10:00.570 --> 01:10:02.657
It’s a total dilemma if you ask me.

502
01:10:03.783 --> 01:10:06.869
The city no longer accommodates them.

503
01:10:06.868 --> 01:10:09.538
But at home,
and I know from my own cats

504
01:10:09.538 --> 01:10:11.873
they forget their cat-ness after a while.

505
01:10:24.386 --> 01:10:29.933
Our concerns for street animals
and our concerns for people

506
01:10:29.934 --> 01:10:32.686
are completely related to one another.

507
01:10:34.104 --> 01:10:39.776
If you ask me, the troubles that
street cats or other street animals face

508
01:10:39.777 --> 01:10:42.070
are not independent
from the troubles that we all face.

509
01:10:48.743 --> 01:10:52.706
It would be easy
to see street cats as a problem

510
01:10:52.707 --> 01:10:55.585
and handle them as a problem.

511
01:10:57.086 --> 01:11:01.757
Whereas if we can learn
to live together again,

512
01:11:01.757 --> 01:11:06.845
maybe we’ll solve our own
problems as we try to solve theirs.

513
01:11:06.845 --> 01:11:12.267
In fact, I’m sure that we would
even regain our fading sense of humor

514
01:11:12.268 --> 01:11:17.064
and rekindle
our slowly dying joy for life.

515
01:12:46.069 --> 01:12:49.407
See how he comes to me, isn’t it amazing?

516
01:12:49.407 --> 01:12:50.949
I thank God.

517
01:12:52.118 --> 01:12:55.079
Isn’t that right, Bombis?

518
01:12:56.622 --> 01:12:58.499
My love! Right, Bombis?

519
01:13:08.009 --> 01:13:12.305
God says, "I test people."

520
01:13:13.764 --> 01:13:20.605
God brings us closer
to him in different ways.

521
01:13:20.604 --> 01:13:24.065
For me, it was these animals.

522
01:13:25.568 --> 01:13:27.903
I guess I was worthy of his love.

523
01:15:35.448 --> 01:15:39.869
A cat meowing at your feet, looking up at you

524
01:15:39.868 --> 01:15:41.996
is life smiling at you.

525
01:15:43.288 --> 01:15:46.207
Those are moments when we’re lucky…

526
01:15:46.207 --> 01:15:49.586
they remind us that we’re alive.