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madogson t1_j98kr8u wrote

Doesn't matter what religion you follow, the cat always thinks they are the most revered animal on the planet

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timshel42 t1_j993sdu wrote

unless you were a cat in medieval catholic europe.

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Moessenpay t1_j9ajn2t wrote

Context please

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SlaughterSpine78 t1_j9al52s wrote

They were killed during the Black Death. Because they killed cats, they weren’t able to hunt the rats that were carrying the disease, and it quickly spread

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70695 t1_j9a2bko wrote

i cant believe such a good comment didnt get thousands of upvotes.

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fourfourzero t1_j9cmlk4 wrote

I can't believe you didn't notice the OP only has 300 upvotes.

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[deleted] t1_j98oozo wrote

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jacobspartan1992 t1_j99y37w wrote

I think generally Muslim cultures consider cats to be respected and 'clean' animals in large part because they were useful for controlling vermin. They are the only other animals besides humans allowed inside mosques.

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Gilamath t1_j9bmk8x wrote

Well, the bit about being allowed in mosques is a cultural thing more than a strictly religious thing. In the old days (like, the first days of Islam), prayer spaces were frequently visited by all sorts of animals, from cats to birds to dogs to mice to livestock. Some of the Sunni schools, especially Hanbalis, see dogs as impure so they might not like letting them in, but there’s actually a fascinating history behind the relationship between religious practice and animals in Islam

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Fark_ID t1_j9ckw76 wrote

So it has been the same nonsense in perpetuity.

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General-Teaching4136 t1_j99my4m wrote

Hold on, not just any animal is allowed to saunter into a mosque.

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Scottland83 t1_j9b5ymr wrote

Boi, where’ve you been? Not even every kind of human is allowed in a mosque.

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General-Teaching4136 t1_j9b6iev wrote

Well thats where you're wrong mate. Anyone can go to a mosque as long as you accept that there is only one god and Muhammad (may blessed peace be ever unto him) is his messenger.

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televisionting t1_j9bdfsq wrote

Anyone can really enter a mosque if you're not there for causing trouble.

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General-Teaching4136 t1_j9bgdbu wrote

Thought so. More to the point, there's no dogs - but cats are in fact allowed. Might not be reverence exactly but I call that special treatment.

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televisionting t1_j9br0xj wrote

I read a Hadith that the Prophet PBUH used to pray in mosque and they were puppies playing in the mosque.

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General-Teaching4136 t1_j9byh2f wrote

Is there any consensus whether dogs are haram or not in that case? I thought you weren't supposed to keep doggies??

I'm no scholar though so maybe it's just not clear.

Reckon cats are clear cut fine and dandy though, if you're trying to live by the best example.

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televisionting t1_j9c1ze9 wrote

You aren't supposed to keep dogs as pets but only for necessity or proper reason then you can keep a dog as far as I know

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jamesbrownscrackpipe t1_j9cmt67 wrote

Dogs are despised in Islam. In fact, in many Arab countries calling someone a ‘dog’ is a massive insult. They are considered filthy animals, like pigs.

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Scottland83 t1_j9bxa4e wrote

Accepting the one true faith ain’t exactly as simple as taking off one’s shoes.

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General-Teaching4136 t1_j9bxuq8 wrote

Genuinely it is as simple as saying and believing what I wrote.

I dont necessarily believe it by the way, but you can always become a muslim.

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momolamomo t1_j99co73 wrote

Yeah it’s all in the hadiths, which are mostly questionable

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MuhammedJahleen t1_j9ba2uz wrote

You mean fake it’s wild how it’s 2023 and people still believe in religion

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Johnny_Venus t1_j99lw8y wrote

You don't speak for Islam

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[deleted] t1_j99n5id wrote

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Johnny_Venus t1_j99n7yo wrote

Not you lol

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[deleted] t1_j99o5ec wrote

[deleted]

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SCP106 t1_j9a1c2e wrote

It's so funny that everyone offering a different answer or disagreeing here are all downvoted an/or controversial, no one has the answer.

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V6Ga t1_j996bpo wrote

PBUH: peace be upon him or peace be upon her; an honorific phrase used by some Muslims after any mention in speech or print of the Islamic prophet Muhammad or any other prophets or chosen figures believed by the majority of Muslims to be sent by God (Allah).

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Proper_Artichoke7865 t1_j9a3z6y wrote

There are no female prophets in Islam. We had an entire side text covering why, in Islamic studies textbook

Lol

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Pitiful_Paramedic895 t1_j9aa58o wrote

Why is that?

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Proper_Artichoke7865 t1_j9ab03d wrote

Basically the task of a prophet is hard. Requires withstanding a lot of persecution. Not something that women could handle in the days of barbarism

I'm just stating what was written, don't down vote me

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Gilamath t1_j9bqlx1 wrote

Depends on whom you ask. I was always taught that it was because societies in the Middle East around Israel (where all of the named prophets are understood to be from) were highly patriarchal and women were not allowed by their societies to participate as equals in religious life, so it would be pretty much impossible to get those societies to change their ways and follow a woman as a religious leader

Islam also believes there were many messengers of God throughout the world other than those described in the Bible and Quran, as Islam believes God’s message to be universal. Most prophets, by some Islamic theologies, came and went without ever having been known to the peoples of the Middle East. It’s quite possible that, in societies where women were the leaders of faith, that there was a woman messenger of God. That’s purely speculative, however, and only God knows

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TimeIdea389 t1_j99xyk1 wrote

I guess the downvote is for the "her"

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ArweTurcala t1_j9akaao wrote

I'd doubt it. PBUH is also used for Hazrat Maryam, Hazrat Isa's (Jesus) mother.

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FuuuuuManChu t1_j98n5gu wrote

They also believe that having dog as pet is haram (working dog like shepherd dog is tolerated because function).

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[deleted] t1_j98o7x7 wrote

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aelephix t1_j992bp0 wrote

Holy shit you just uncovered a memory I’ve been repressing for a long time. When I was selling my house in Michigan around 2008 (just before the real estate crash) I had an offer on the house that was amazing. They did a walk through and loved it. We had two cats and a dog but I made sure to remove all evidence of pets before they arrived. We arranged for an inspector a few days later. On that day my plan was to go get the pets 30 minutes before their arrival. They show up at the house an hour early with my realtor and the inspector. When they go inside the wife sees my dog (in her crate) and absolutely loses her mind. Like screaming. My realtor calls me up frantic saying they want to withdraw their offer as nobody told them a dog had been living in the house and they felt entirely deceived. In the end I ended up paying for an extremely expensive professional cleaning service that sanitized the entire house. That was when I learned this TIL.

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myc-space t1_j98rzia wrote

Ah dang, that’s too bad. We don’t deserve dogs. If there is a better example of god wanting us to be happy and have companionship than the existence of dogs, I don’t know what is. I’m not a believer, but my assumption is that a benevolent, all powerful god wouldn’t make a judgement call on which animal we’re allowed to love based on how much carpet cleaning we’ll have to do.

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listyraesder t1_j98uz26 wrote

Yahweh (the god of Jews, Christians, Muslims etc) isn’t supposed to be benevolent. It is supposed to be a tyrant. This “god is love” stuff is a relatively recent rebranding exercise.

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[deleted] t1_j994i9k wrote

[deleted]

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momolamomo t1_j99ck0s wrote

Except there were feral cats back then, along with wild goats and feral camels. He only applied the condition on the dog, so he’s singled them Out, healthy or not. So your argument doesn’t hold water

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[deleted] t1_j99e2ti wrote

[deleted]

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momolamomo t1_j99e8h8 wrote

Except old mate mohamad wasn’t talking about danger. He was saying that the animal, regardless if it’s clean or not, is not pure, spiritually. He goes on to describe that angels “refuse” to enter a home that contains a dog. Mohamad was NOT talking about danger.

He needed something unique to seperate his new religion from Other religions

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claraalberta t1_j9aw93n wrote

It's a ritualistic cleaning, once with water mixed with soil and another seven times with just water. In countries like Malaysia there are also products like soap with the soil incorporated in it for convenience.

[The schools of Islamic jurisprudence (not to be confused with the Sunni/Shi'a denominations) disagree on whether dogs are najis (i.e. unclean). In practice, it really... depends on the Muslim whether they consider dogs unclean as a whole or by part. Growing up, I was taught the Shafi'i opinion that dogs as a whole are unclean, but in the last 10 years I had adjusted this principle to the Maliki opinion that the saliva of wild dogs are unclean.]

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Gilamath t1_j9bs9au wrote

Actually, the Maliki position you mentioned is a minority position, though it is the majority position of the Hanafis. The Maliki majority consensus is that, so long as the dog is alive, it is pure (najasa). This is because dogs are animals, and all animals are pure when they are alive

Upon death, unless they were killed in the name of God for a clear purpose and killed in a way that minimizes pain to the greatest feasible degree, they are impure to touch (this, of course, is the basis of “zabihah”). However, transforming the remains of the animal, for instance my tanning its hide, removes its impurities. Thus, Malikis will say that pig leather is pure, but boar-bristle brushes are impure, for instance

The other Sunni schools disagree with this, and I believe the Jafaris come to somewhat similar conclusions but using a different logic. I’m afraid I’m not quite sure, though

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An_Atheist_God t1_j998ymr wrote

> 1- Keeping dogs in Islam is not permissible except for hunting or guarding livestock and crops. 2- It is permissible to keep dogs for guarding houses so long as that is outside the city and that there is no other means of guarding the house. 3- The Muslim should not imitate others by running with the dog or touching its mouth and kissing it, which causes many diseases.

https://islamqa.info/amp/en/answers/69840

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[deleted] t1_j99b9wz wrote

[deleted]

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An_Atheist_God t1_j99niy9 wrote

>For almost every question you ask in Islam, the answer will depend on the sector

True

>The majority, but not all, to my knowledge do not agree with your source.

This is one of the largest and most popular fatwa site

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Gilamath t1_j9bsuc7 wrote

They generally give Hanbali opinions. This fatwa site may be popular, but its opinions often reflect only a small portion of Muslim scholarship. The Maliki school entirely disagrees with this fatwa. This is why fatawa are not universal religious decrees, because Islam is a decentralized religion that is characterized by dissent, debate, and mutual respect for each other‘s points of view. We have lost this to an extent over the last 50 years, but for well over 13 centuries this has been how we have done things. There is always enough room for one more opinion or one more argument

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momolamomo t1_j99ce1k wrote

This is a fatwa. It isn’t law. There’s a difference

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monkeypox_69 t1_j99p9lw wrote

Toxoplasmosis man, they are playing the long game..

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Telephalsion t1_j99ull5 wrote

I remember hearing that the reason some cats have an 'M' pattern on their head is because they were blessed by the prophet Mohammed.

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Darmok47 t1_j9bp44f wrote

This feels like an email forward from one of my Muslim aunties.

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sabersquirl t1_j9c1mvc wrote

Why would he have used Latin script to change biology. Why not use Arabic script?

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Telephalsion t1_j9c23c4 wrote

Y'know. That is a giant plot hole to be sure, and nothing I wondered about until now. But according to tradition, Muhammed was illiterate, so maybe he just lucked out with the latin M there?

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srslybr0 t1_j9bhwo9 wrote

tfw vegeta was blessed by muhammad as well.

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Freeiheit t1_j9gjnam wrote

Nah it’s definitely cause they were corrupted by the wizard babbadi. Majin kitty!

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InsuranceToTheRescue t1_j9cagcz wrote

Uhh, PBUH?

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ElectroFlannelGore OP t1_j9cbqnf wrote

Peace Be Unto Him

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InsuranceToTheRescue t1_j9ce4y1 wrote

Ahh. I thought it was initials. Is it common to recite that saying when mentioning Muhammad or other important figures in Islam?

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ElectroFlannelGore OP t1_j9cepbn wrote

Yup. Exactly. Usually only once in a block of text or complete thought when speaking to someone.

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DreyaNova t1_j9dpmxf wrote

Cats are considered holy animals in many cultures. They’re fairly self sufficient and have value in killing vermin. And they’re self-cleaning.

There’s an absolutely beautiful documentary called “Kedi” about Turkish street cats, and there’s a quote in the documentary where a guy says “Dogs believe that humans are God, but cats are aware of God’s presence.” And I personally thought that was the most lovely and accurate description.

I love cats. I’m happy that other people love cats too.

Here is the trailer https://youtu.be/zgYAuo9UYoE

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theexitisontheleft t1_j98nxq0 wrote

The recommended article about historic African mosques is worth a look too.

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ZylonBane t1_j9dprqb wrote

Muslims: We don't worship Muhammad.

Also Muslims: PBUH PBUH PBUH or you're going to Hell.

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shadboi16 t1_j9ejziw wrote

It’s just to show respect, you won’t go to Hell for not saying it and no one is pressuring you to say it lol. Exaggerating much?

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ZylonBane t1_j9g09pk wrote

Mandatory respect. You don't PBUH all over other people you respect, do ya?

It's all just so amusingly performative.

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shadboi16 t1_j9j5jvz wrote

It’s more like calling someone “Mr. President” or “Sir”. It’s just a form of respect given to someone of that higher status.

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lawyerjsd t1_j9b87to wrote

As I understand it, Muhammad (PBUH) wasn’t a dog person, so this tracks.Also. TIL to use PBUH when discussing Muhammad (PBUH).

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Pligles t1_j9bs1wq wrote

I don’t really go for Muhammad, but I am a fan of The Raisin Bran Man (PBUH)

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Gilamath t1_j9bv2q8 wrote

Muhammad probably liked all animals, including dogs. His sons — who died in childhood, God give them and their father peace — had a dog, and there’s a well-known tradition (Arabic: “Hadith”) in which Muhammad related to his companions that among the people destined for heaven was a sex worker who saw a street dog in dire need of water so she went to a nearby well and scooped out some water in her shoe and gave water to the dog

It’s a low-key radical story, because there’s no mention of whether this woman was a monotheist or a polytheist, or an atheist, what she thought of Islam, or really anything about her at all. All we know is that she was kind to a creature whom the whole world had basically abandoned, and she’s going to heaven. Man, I don’t even know if I’m going to heaven, but she is. Hell of a role model, imo

Fund your local animal shelters, neuter/spay your pets, and TNR stray cats!

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ZylonBane t1_j9dpgvi wrote

Are you okay? Sounds like you have some phlegm in your throat.

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ElectroFlannelGore OP t1_j9bbvq6 wrote

When speaking you only really need to use it the first time they're mentioned in a paragraph or like the first time you mention them when speaking to someone. But if you turned to someone else that just sat down and started another conversation you'd use PBUH again.

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pesiarn t1_j9beku8 wrote

I wasn’t really paying attention and my brain read “BRUH” both times.

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ollowain86 t1_j9eidbv wrote

Some misconceptions here: Cats are not seen as revered/holy or similar in Islam. Dogs are not seen as haram as mentioned in some comments. We don't see them as superior/inferior to each other. Yes, even pigs.

The reason for this confusion is that muslims shall pray 5 times per day, the so called "Salah". Dogs aren't allowed to enter the place where you pray, because the place of prayer should be clean. Cats on the other hand count as clean enough. But you can have them both as pets.

But animals are exactly like they supposed to be. And all animals should be treated in a good way, since they are all creatures created by Allah.

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shadboi16 t1_j9ejqtf wrote

We can have dogs only as guard dogs and not household pets right?

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ollowain86 t1_j9ekvkg wrote

Normally that is -traditionally- how it is.

But nowadays with influence from "the west" some muslims ask, if they can have a dog as pet. It depends who you ask, normally the answer is "no, since they are considered as not clean enough to hold them at home as a pet".

But Islam is flexible, more then one would assume. For example, if you are starving you can eat pork. You can use alcohol for medicine, like desinfection afaik.

Maybe, you can have a dog as pet, if you are struggling with depressions? I never heard of a case, but I can imagine that this could be ok under some conditions.

Rules in Islam may seem hard to follow, but they aren't and they adapt to life.

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shadboi16 t1_j9elbsl wrote

Yeah I know about them, I’m a Muslim aswell. I was only confused because I thought you were saying that we, in general conditions, can have dogs as household pets. In specific conditions I can see sure why not if it helps you with depression.

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jeremyxt t1_j98uqi4 wrote

I bet that very few Muslim countries have a problem with rats.

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Willygolightly t1_j98y2x2 wrote

I moved to the Middle East from New York, and spent some time in Istanbul too.

Street cats are EVERYWHERE, but the cities “take care of them” their basic food and water is provided in many areas, and people fill in the gaps. They will take un-neutered cats off the street to snip them, but then re-release them back into the same neighborhood. Where I live it’s estimated that there are more than 500 stray cats per sq mile.

I’ve never seen a rodent, and very few crawling bugs since living here.

I don’t miss the mice, rats, and cockroaches.

Street cats are the best!

Edit- An anecdote about the Turkey earthquake cat who adopted the fire fighter who saved him. In Istanbul the cats are pretty welcome inside restaurants and cafes, and are very friendly. I had several cats jump on me to chill while I was there, just to hang out and cuddle, or use my shoulder as a vantage point-I loved it, my wife hated it. Anyway, I’m just saying although it makes the world feel good, Turkey’s Street cats will adopt anyone, not just rescue heros.

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jeremyxt t1_j9904iz wrote

I have daydreamed about visiting Turkey for this reason. I love cats. It runs in my family.

r/TurkishCats

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belushi93 t1_j9bfegv wrote

A lot of Europe does the same thing. In Amsterdam, all of the restaurants seemed to have their own cat. They are highly revered for keeping the rat population low.

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