Cats of Cappadocia

More or less against my will, I became attached to the cats who populated my daily life while I was living in Ibrahimpasa. 

One of the resident cats at Babayan Culture House

Mother and daughter from the street family

I live in a relatively small NYC apartment and I have 3 cats.  Simply put, this is just crazy and although I adore my cats, I was looking forward to being cat-free for a month when I was in Turkey.  When I got to the Babayan Culture House I greeted the cats who were living there and also the strays who came by for food and then more or less ignored them. Unlike city cats who are really bored a lot of the time and focus most of their attention on their human friends, these Turkish cats had very busy lives, so it didn’t seem to be a problem for them if I just went about my business without offering them special attention. 

Even with their busy lives they had plenty of time to relax...

be extremely affectionate....

and pose for photos.

One day towards the end of my stay, I was in the building with the studio spaces sorting through the large plastic drop cloths.  I picked up one of the sheets  and it felt a strangely heavy, so I shook it and 2 newborn kittens fell out.

I had never seen such small kittens before and I wasn't sure what to do, so I ran and got Paul to help. He found a little box for them and we made a cozy little nest for the kittens to sleep in.  The mother wasn’t around and I was very worried that she had abandoned them, so I waited in the studio for most of the day, coaxing her back into the space so she could bond with her children.  Eventually she did come in, took on her mothering role and I spent my last days at Babayan feeding the mother and watching over her and her babies.

In spite of my wish to be cat-free for the month, I became very attached to this little family and looked forward to receiving pictures and updates as the little ones grew up.  

Unfortunately, I got an email last week that the babies were missing. Nobody knows what happened to them. Maybe an animal took them- or a person - or the mother moved them.  Everyone who was there did an extensive search, but they were nowhere to be found.  Being far away now from Turkey, I just felt sad that these kitties I had cared for were gone and that this piece of me would not have the opportunity to live on at Babayan. It was a sad reminder to me of the fragility and impermanence of life.  "All that arises fades away", the Buddhists would say.  And although I know this is true, its always surprising and unsettling to see just how true it is.