Vet pens 500 common traits of cat people

Umut Erdem - ISTANBUL

A veterinarian has collected some 500 common traits of cat people, such as leaving the bed’s most comfortable part for them or talking to every cat on the street, into a book.

Tarkan Özçetin, the head of KEDVET, a non-governmental organization promoting affection towards and awareness regarding cats, wrote a book in which he answers the question “what is it like to be a cat person.”

Özçetin, who is also the founding president of an association for private animal hospitals, listed 500 common characteristics of cat people from around the globe.

Among these are “spotting a cat everywhere you go,” “wanting to take it home wherever you see a cat,” “talking to every cat you see on the street.”

The adoption process of cat people usually starts with the intention of feeding one or two cats, but ends with living with seven cats, Özçetin said.

Cat people carry food in their bags and feed every cat they see on the street, the vet said, adding that they love every cat, regardless of breed or color of their coat.

Dog people are seen as rational, while cat people as crazy, he said. “Because the dog serves you, it obeys. However, the cat does not. He crushes the arrogance of man under his paws.”

Therefore, to be a cat person is to discipline one’s self, he added.

“Being a cat person is to leave the large and most comfortable part of your bed to cats and to sleep in a strange shape so that you don’t disturb them within the small part you set aside for yourself,” Özçetin said.

“It is running back home and listening to the sound of the cat meowing impatiently inside with longing while opening the door.”

Founded in 2015 as the first “Association of Feline Medicine” in Türkiye, KEDVET was accepted as representative of the country for the International Society of Feline Medicine (ISFM) the same year.

There are 4.1 million cats in Türkiye, according to the data of the European Pet Food Industry Federation (FEDIAF), as the pandemic has caused a boom in the tendency to own pets among Turkish people.

Around 78,000 pets from across the country were registered in a pet-tracking system called “PETVET” in 2021, according to a report by the Agriculture and Forestry Ministry.

Kitten adoption was mostly seen in the southern province of Adana, while old cat adoptions were mostly seen in the Aegean province of İzmir.

Mia, Pamuk (Cotton), Duman (Smoke), Tarçın (Cinnamon) and Badem (Almond) were the most popular cat names.