How to meet street cats around the world

By Andrea Sachs

The Washington Post

Before a foreign trip, Jeff Bogle will learn a few key phrases in the country’s official tongue. For the Philadelphia writer, one term is as essential as please, thank you and bathroom.

The word he can’t travel without is “cat.”

“If I’m planning on asking people where the cats are or where I can find cats, I definitely put that in the arsenal,” said Bogle, who can say “cat” in French, Spanish, Italian, Arabic, Turkish, Croatian and Japanese.

For several years, Bogle has been doggedly searching for street cats around the world: in parks, medinas and open-air markets, on islands and cafe chairs, atop ancient ruins and garbage cans. More than a cat dad who likes to travel, he’s a tabby tourist, a subject he explores in his new book, “Street Cats & Where to Find Them,” available Aug. 19. Over some 200 pages — and in an interview with The Washington Post — he recommends his favorite spots for hanging with community cats on five continents, plus tips on dining, attractions, transportation and helping strays.

“The second I see a little cat in my peripheral vision, I’m like, ‘Ok, whatever, ancient Greece, I’m just going to follow this cat for the rest of the day,’” said Bogle, 49. “As I traveled, I would just spend all my time with cats.”

Bogle, a father of two daughters and four cats, frequently communed with felines on vacations and work assignments. Then, in 2023, he visited Istanbul, the promised land for cat lovers. He returned home from the “City of Cats” with thousands of cat photos on his phone, a sincere apology to his pets for his infidelity and the idea to write a guidebook about “feline-friendly” destinations.

“The book incorporates my two favorite things: cats, obviously, and traveling with an open heart and an open mind,” Bogle said. “I hope to help people understand what it’s like, not necessarily to be a cat there, but to be a human eating the food, talking to people and having, with any luck, a warm cat on your lap.”

Bogle highlights more than 20 places where visitors can interact with street cats in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, North Africa and Asia, including respectfully observing them in Matera, Italy, and full-on cuddling with them in Lima, Peru. He also includes a sampling of cat cafes and other themed attractions, such as cat museums, a cat festival in Belgium and famous hotel cat ambassadors. Scores of photos illustrate cats being cats in extraordinary settings — not that they care.

Slow travel with cats

In his early 20s, his then-girlfriend showed up at their suburban Philadelphia apartment with a cat that needed to be rehomed. Bogle was smitten. More cats followed, including Tilly, his “soul cat” to whom he dedicates the book.

“Tilly taught me to just sit the hell down, like just chill out for a second, enjoy the sunshine, enjoy the birds chirping, just relax and be right now,” he said, “and take a nap sometimes.”

Bogle practices Tilly’s lessons when traveling, and he recommends others do the same. Cats compel us to pause and be present, he said, and incorporating the animals into your itinerary forces you to slow down.

“I’m not saying don’t see the famous stuff and run around like a crazy person, but every once in a while, sit down and be with a cat and just relax and take it all in,” he said.

Cats on five continents

Animal welfare groups can’t quite pin down the number of stray and feral cats that populate the Earth, but it’s safe to assume there are gazillions. Felines are everywhere, in bitterly cold and steamy hot locales, in desert and tropical climates, in giant metropolises and seaside villages.

Bogle selected his destinations in part because of their reported strongholds of cats. To his surprise, Yanaka Ginza, a shopping district in Tokyo, didn’t live up to its nickname of “Cat Town.”

“All of these cat shops were selling cat Popsicles, cat treats and cat merchandise,” he said. “The only thing missing were the cats.”

He decided to include the neighborhood, however, as a cautionary tale about the impermanence of cultural attractions and the transitory nature of experiences. Everything changes, even the resident cats. In the case of Yanaka Ginza, the combination of urban development; trap, neuter and release (TNR) programs; and a shift toward keeping cats indoors reduced the number of strays.

His favorite spot is Lima, where he said he would want to live if he were a cat. It’s a great place to be an ailurophile, too. In his “cat cuddle rating,” he awarded the Peruvian city five toe beans. Two other places — Istanbul, also known as Catstanbul, and Old San Juan in Puerto Rico — share this top honor.

“There’s fresh mulch and flowers, and the cats — there’s so many of them. They’re bouncing around, climbing up trees, sitting in trees,” he said of Lima’s Miraflores area. “There are hundreds of people — a great mix of locals and tourists — in this park day and night, and 1 out of every 3 people had a cat on their lap. They’re so loved.”

Bogle didn’t limit his scope to sites with healthy, friendly cats. Matera, in southern Italy, almost didn’t make the cut because its cats were skittish and aloof. He ultimately decided to include the city because of its historic and cultural virtues, which include Paleolithic cave dwellings and pane di Matera, a crusty bread made of Lucanian-milled semolina grain.

Ancient Egyptians revered cats, claiming they possessed a divine spirit. Modern residents are not as enamored with the animals, nor are they as attentive to their needs. In the Cairo section, Bogle mentions a sick kitty struggling to survive. In a conversation with The Post, he recalled with a heavy heart a litter of kittens desperately suckling a mom “who didn’t have much to give.”

“I didn’t want this to be all cupcakes and rainbows, that cats are adored everywhere, because they’re not,” he said. “It’s tough out there. But, in my travels, those are few and far between.”

Crouch to their level, and carry treats

In the “Staying Safe with Street Cats” chapter, Bogle offers tips on how to respectfully and carefully engage with the animals. In his phone call with The Post, he expanded on these practices, which he usually abides by. The one time he didn’t, he suffered a scratch.

“I got a little overzealous, and she let me know quickly,” he said of the Lima encounter with an orange tabby. “It wasn’t malicious, just a, ‘No, thank you.’”

Bogle recommends crouching down to the cat’s level, in a baseball catcher’s position or “crisscross applesauce on the ground.” Don’t pick them up or try to abruptly pet them. Stretch your hand out and let them get a good whiff, so they can determine whether you are worthy of their attention.

In many of the places he recommends, such as Parque Kennedy in Miraflores, Houtong Cat Village in Taiwan and Old Town in Paphos, Cyprus, volunteers set up feeding stations. Even so, he will still fill his pockets with treats purchased at a corner shop. He prefers dry food because of its portability and longer shelf life, though, on a trip to Lima, he and his wife brought packets of Churu, ambrosia for cats.

Conversely, in cat cafes, refrain from feeding the residents outside food. Some places will provide nibbles for at least one species.

“Overseas, you can sit and have a full meal or a pastry and a coffee, and have a cat on your lap,” Bogle said. “They’re caring for them, whether they’re adoptable or house cats, and they may be on special diets.”

If you discover a sick animal, he suggests contacting a local animal welfare group or veterinarian clinic. For each destination, he provides an information box with a “How you can help” section that includes organizations that care for community cats with food, water, vet visits and TNR services. If available, they can also assist with adoptions.

Bogle still pines for Saffron, a tabby he met — and named — on a car roof in Old San Juan. Because he and his wife were on a cruise, they couldn’t take her home. Saffron appears on Page 100, deep in a snuggle with Bogle’s spouse, both ignoring the guy covered in cat hair.