What happens to street animals when tourists suddenly disappear?
As coronavirus forced millions of people around the world into lockdown, another sizeable population had also been hard hit stray cats and dogs.
A stray cat stands alone in Eminönü, one of Istanbul’s oldest neighborhoods, which remained nearly empty for months due to COVID-19 restrictions.Photograph by Elif Ozturk, Anadolu Agency/Getty Images
ByJennifer Hattam
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The trip from the ferry dock to Cem Arslan’s home on Kınalıada is a short one, but it’s not just the steepness of the hilly streets that keeps him from zipping along more quickly. As he drives around this small island district of Istanbul, Arslan frequently slows his electric scooter to a crawl either to let stray cats dart safely across the road or to greet a pack of dogs that knows him well.