Stray cat on the run after sparking legal battle in sleepy Turkish town

BOLU - Doğan News Agency

The cat, Çiçek (Flower), is known as the mascot of Bolu Beyi Shopping Arcade

A stray cat is on the run after it sparked a legal battle in the sleepy western Turkish town of Bolu.

The cat, Çiçek (Flower), is known as the mascot of Bolu Beyi Shopping Arcade where she has been fed by shopkeepers for the past 12 years. The management of the arcade officially notified the shopkeepers two weeks ago, warning that the cat will not be allowed in the building anymore.

Furthermore, municipal patrol officers raided the arcade July 3 to confiscate the cat for possible measures, including putting her down, but they were unable to find her in the building.

The shopkeepers who love Çiçek are determined to keep her.

22 shopkeepers out of a total of 34 in the arcade signed a petition to present to Bolu Municipality to save Çiçek. The shopkeepers stressed that they don't have any complaints regarding the cat's presence, which has an international health certificate, according to the petition.

"Shopkeepers love this animal so much. We'll present our petition to the municipality on July 7," Kadriye Özgören, who leads the initiative, told Doğan News Agency.

The whereabouts of the cat remain unknown.