Turkish cats and dogs and their interactions with people

Turkish cats and dogs seem to be very much like the Turkish people, exotic, of all kinds, quite laid back, playful/humorous, and very friendly. We had the good fortune of interacting with them in a family setting in Cappadocia in the hotel where we stayed, whose hosts managed a menagerie of different dogs and cats. This was the first time we saw these animals actually having a “personality”! there was a Garfield cat which lay around oblivious to all that was going on around him, but was not at all averse to putting out his paw to take your food unless you showed him a hand and said “no” rather forcefully. Then there was a dog (pup really) – all he wanted to do was to play with the cats but the cats were acting coy and deliberately irritating the dog by jumping and whirling from pillar to post. Vix had this strange thought at the time: wouldn’t it be a disaster for a cat that had agoraphobia and a fear of jumping!!! Then there was another cat that played football with us for a whole hour. We would throw a wine cork at her, and she would bound after it and kick it back to us! And then the cork would go under a heavy cupboard, she wouldn’t mind flattening herself to get underneath to retrieve it! And there was this really unwell cat: she was breathing like she had asthma and then we learned she died that night. So sad. We also met a cat in one of the shops – all she wanted to do is to rub herself against anyone’s legs that would let her, purring all the while. I don’t normally like cats, but Turkish cats were a delight. An animal lover’s paradise.