Local man feeds Bodrum’s cats for 30 years

MUĞLA – Anadolu Agency

A man living in the Bodrum district of the southwestern province of Muğla has fed local stray cats for 30 years, traveling four kilometers every day on his bicycle to feed them. 

Living alone in the Gümbet neighborhood of Bodrum, 70-year-old Ali Karaduman goes to fish sellers in the Bodrum harbor every day after work, after which he feeds cats on a route stretching nearly 4 kilometers. 

“I see the kittens and feel sorry for them. At the end of the day, we are humans and we should take care of them. If their mothers are hungry, kittens cannot be fed. I feel obliged to take care of them all,” Karaduman told state-run Anadolu Agency. 

“If I don’t have fish I buy cat food and leave it in various spots. The cats run to me when they see my bicycle. The number of cats that I feed is sometimes nearly 150. If I don’t have food to give then I change my route. All the local fishermen know me and help me out,” he added.