Balkan Kitties

a kitten sharpening her claws in Veliko Tarnovo

I do not like being called a cat lady. I do love cats and I am a woman, but society has attached a collection of characteristics to the moniker “cat lady” that I don’t like. I have a theory about this: in medieval Europe, it was smart, working women who kept cats, because those women knew that cats helped keep their homes clean and pest-free. These women were sometimes unmarried, and sometimes good at things like medicine and midwifery.

A woman who didn’t need a husband and was good at something that, in the opinion of many, should have been left to God, threatened the status quo. Therefore, she was labeled as crazy and everything that she was also seen as crazy. Including having a cat. That’s where the negative connotations that go with “cat lady” come from. I have no evidence to back it up, but it makes sense, doesn’t it?

a very regal cat in Athens

Anyway, now that we’ve addressed that, I’ll say that the number of cats I saw the Balkans absolutely delighted me. I didn’t pet many of them—germs—but I talked to all of them. If you’re curious what a person’s native language is, set a kitten in front of them and listen to which language and which accent they use to talk baby-talk to the little furball. Cats understand it all.

In Veliko Tarnovo, kittens sharpened their claws on the wooden gates of the old town and begged for food from the shopkeepers opening their stores at ten in the morning. I spent ten or so minutes petting a chubby, loudly purring cat as she lounged on a chair in an art gallery—the guy selling tickets commented that she was a bigger attraction than the art.

the cat in the art gallery

In Sofia and Plovdiv, Bulgaria’s two biggest cities, most of the cats were fixed—you could tell because of the little notch cut into one of their ears—and most looked very well fed. The locals left little mounds of cat food out for them, and cats lounged in groups in the shade of some bushes or next to trash cans overflowing with old meat—a.k.a., dinner for after their kibble appetizers.

There were even more cats in Istanbul. The stray dogs were fixed and looked unhealthy, with swollen bellies, thatched fur, and red eyes, but the cats looked like the picture of health: well-fed, with thick fur, clear eyes, and whole, un-notched ears indicating that they were perfectly capable of reproducing. They’re too fast and too smart for the Turkish authorities, our walking tour guide Peri told us. They don’t get caught.

the cat posing in the Hagia Sofia

Cats also are allowed to take refuge in Istanbul’s thousands of mosques, and they frequently avail themselves of this privilege. A particularly regal-looking fellow posed on the carpet inside the Hagia Sophia for a group of tourists like it was his job, his paws primly pressed together, his tail neatly tucked under his bottom. When some idiot tried to pick him up, he hissed at her, moved a foot away, and resumed his pose.

There are so many cats in the Balkans for the same reason that cats are the only animals allowed inside mosques: cats were beloved by the Prophet Muhammad--so are beloved by Muslims everywhere--and the Balkans used to be ruled by the Muslim Ottoman Empire. Google “cats and Islam” and you’ll be greeted with a heartwarming collection of pictures: litters of kittens sleeping on beautifully patterned prayer mats, regal-looking cats cleaning their paws inside and in front of ornate mosques.

a kitten in Athens

Some say that Muslim scholars just liked cats because they killed the mice that would have damaged books and papers, but I also heard and read an (equally heartwarming) collection of stories about cats and the Prophet and his companions. Who knows how true all of them are, but they’re very sweet. There is a hadith—a saying attributed to the Prophet but not found in the Holy Qur’an—that says “affection for cats is part of faith.” A cat killed a snake that was about to bite the Prophet, and in thanks he leaned down to pet the cat on its back. The story goes that that single stroke from Muhammad is why cats never land on their back, always on their feet. There is also a story of an elder who had a cat fall asleep on the sleeve of his robe. When it was time for prayers, the elder cut off his sleeve rather than disturb the cat.  

I don't remember where this picture was taken!

Cats are also considered ritually clean animals. I should explain: in religious traditions, not just Islam, certain substances, fluids, animals, etc. can be considered ritually unclean or clean (or neutral). Ritual uncleanliness doesn’t necessarily mean something is sinful or wrong, it just means it needs to be kept separate from religion rituals and activities. For example, according to some Muslim scholars, you cannot pray if you have dog saliva on your clothes because dogs are ritually unclean animals, and you must wash yourself first. But if a cat licks/pees on/leaves fur on your clothes, you’re still good to go because cats are ritually clean.

Most of the Balkan countries are not Muslim anymore. Bulgaria and Greece are Orthodox Christian, and Romania is Catholic. Cats are simply a lingering reminder of Ottoman influence, and, for me, a reminder of the little cat I left back at home.

a cat sleeping in a cemetery in Athens