I can remember coming to Turunc some 10 years ago and seeing street cats here and there – mainly near restaurants / apartments etc.  Turunc was a different place then, and because of the lack of development, the problem with the cats didn’t seem that great.  Since the development of the village it has become more noticeable and thankfully we now have a group of people doing something really positive!

 

The problem of the street cats in Turunc is not a massive problem – like the cats in certain parts of Rome, Athens, Mexico City and other places are.  However, thanks to the great efforts of this group, the problem in Turunc is being positively addressed.  This group is made up of volunteers, who are dedicated in ensuring that the vast majority of the cats are well looked after and where possible suitable homes are found for the cats.

 

Just to give you some background, the group in Turunc have been neutering cats there for about 6 months.  So far they have neutered 68 cats but there are still a lot of kittens around, and the work continues.  That is brilliant work in such a short period of time – but it costs money!!

 

They catch the street cats, sometimes with the help of a trap, donated to them by Coventry Cats Protection.  The cats are then taken to the vet in Marmaris to be neutered.  The vet tattoos their ears so that they know which ones have been done and for about a week after the operation the cat’s ears are bright green until the safe dye washes off.

 

 

The Mayor of Turunc has been supporting the neutering programme and arranged for the Marmaris City Vet to carry out the operations free provided the group supply the medicines etc.  Obviously this is costly and the group have limited funds available at present.

They have recently started doing a fund-raising stall on the Turunc Market, and have placed a donations box outside the one of mini-market stores in the village.  The proceeds of this fund-raising will help to pay for neutering and winter feeding which we have started now the season is over.

 

Like any other animal welfare group they face huge issues around funding and they only have the tourist season to build up funds.  Unlike in the U.K, there aren’t funding application streams available to them to support there work or organisations like the RSPCA or Cats Protection League to call upon.

 

 

 

So what can we do to help?

• Well, if you want to help this group a cash donation would be beneficial when you visit Turunc next.  Don’t fancy waiting that long?
• How about making a donation via Pay Pal?  This isn’t in place yet, but I will be talking to Fiona Saville and advising her on how to set up a Pay Pal account for donations.
• Other practical ways could also include taking Dry Cat Food or tins of Cat Food out there when you next visit.
• Taking out items which could be sold from the group’s market stall would also help.

I will be donating £5.00 from every single flight ticket I sell to passengers going to Dalaman / Bodrum next season – May – Oct 2007.  Also I will donate £5.00 for every transfer arranged by me from those airports to Turunc/Marmaris.

 

I am looking to assist in the start up of some sort of sustainable funding streams for this group, which will be managed entirely by them, be that a Pay Pal account or even adopting / sponsoring a Turunc Cat / Kitten with an associated update via email / newsletter – again this will be done in complete consultation with Fiona and her team of volunteers in Turunc.

 

If you want to help or have any thoughts on other ways to assist contact me at colin@crancher.com or phone me on 07871415465.