Istanbul Honours Beloved Stray Cat With A Statue After Death – News18

Istanbul is popularly called the ‘City of Cats’ for its love for stray felines that can be found in all corners of the city. Back in 2016, a cat named Tombili (Turkish for chubby) died after a prolonged illness. This cat lived in Istanbul’s Ziverbey neighborhood and was loved by the locals because of its friendly nature. A picture of Tombili, which showed him reclining on the steps of a sidewalk and gazing into the street, went viral. Netizens also began using this undated photo as a meme. On August 1, 2016, Tombili died after a prolonged illness.

Soon after its death, a Change.org campaign demanding the municipality to build a commemorative sculpture of Tombil gathered more than 17,000 signs. The municipality accepted this demand and inaugurated a statue of Tombili that replicated its iconic pose. The statue was placed at its favorite resting spot on the side of the pavement. The statue was inaugurated on October 4, which is also celebrated as World Animal Day.

The bronze sculpture was voluntarily made by artist Seval Şahin. This statue was stolen a month after being unveiled but was returned anonymously at its same spot following massive outrage.

Tombili is not the only animal who got a statue after its death. Hachiko, an Akita dog from Japan also has multiple statues in its home country. Hachiko is known as a symbol of loyalty and love in Japan. The dog was adopted by Hidesaburo Ueno, a professor of agriculture at the University of Tokyo, in 1924. Every evening, Hachikō would wait at the Shibuya station for Uneo to return from work and the two would then walk back home. On May 21, 1925, Ueno died at work due to a cerebral hemorrhage. Following its master’s death, Hachiko was adopted by Ueno’s gardener Kikusaburo Kobayashi. The Akita dog continued to go to the train station at the same time when Ueno used to return. As per lore, the loyal dog followed this ritual for nearly 10 years, till he died in 1935.

Hachiko’s gesture of returning to the Shibuya station touched many people. The dog was buried next to Ueno in Aoyama Cemetery. Today, Hachiko has a statue outside the Shibuya station. In 2015, the Faculty of Agriculture of the University of Tokyo also unveiled a bronze statue that showed Ueno and Hachiko.