“I first oped mine eyes in Constantinople,” sayt Kettie. “The best citie in all the world.
“We kits lay in a storehouse. There were baskets and chests for my sisters and me to play amidst when our mother went to fetch our food.
“She set forth in the morning and again in the evening, always returning with choice morsels.
“In Constantinople there are men and boys who go about the streets with buckets of boyled or baked meats. They call: Cat meat, Cat meat.
“We soon learnt to follow them, because good men and women buy their wares as gifts for us.
“When we were of an age to leap our mother took us through the gardens, of which there are many. She showed us the walls whereon we could wait for food to be served.
“People come with meats they’ve bought in the streets or from the cookshops. Some have long sticks, and so pass our morsels up to us.
“Cats from palace to marketplace breakfast there. We also ate there of an evening, for it’s a good place to hear the newes.”
None present could believe their ears, but Kettie swore all was true.
He sayt, “It’s not onlie we who eat well. Dogs are given meats, e’en though they’re nasty creatures. And also the great birds that fly over the citie. People throw pieces of meat in the air which those birds catch most skilful.
“Many of the rude and barbarous strangers [foreigners] that come to Constantinople gape and grin at such doings. Else they buy meat and throw it to us or to the birds, but they do it for sport, not goodness. They’ll win no favour from the Queen Cat of Heaven.”
A cat called, “When sails the next ship for Turkey?”
That made all merry.
“Friend,” sayt Kettie, “if I knew that I would be aboard and waiting for the wind.”
“If Constantinople were such a paradise,” arrkst Picker, “why came you here?”
“Does not London seem a very turd-hole to one such as you?” arrkst Stealer.
“Surely, sister,” sayt Picker, “you mean a turk-hole?”
But Kettie would not be provoked by these sly sisters.
“I had a mind to travel,” sayt he. “First, I friended a fisherman, who carried me across the water to Kalatas [Galata]. A town where many strangers dwell. ’Twas there I first saw men with heads so full of wine they could scarce keep on their feet. A foul drink, but all eat well of fish there.
“Then I wished to visit Venezia [Venice] and slipt aboard a ship. Alas, it did not return to Kalatas, but sailed here. I came ashore to see sights, but when it were time to return I could not find my ship!
“In truth, friends, I near starved. Whene’er I sat on a garden wall at dawn or dusk, watching for any who would bring me food, evil boys threw stones at me.
“Even at the cookshops, few would give me alms. And other cats chased me off, naming me rogue and vagabond when they learnt I had neither master nor mistress.
“In Constantinople I had no need of such protection. Here, I learnt that all must serve another, or be accounted nowt. And so, after walking many ways, I came to Black-Fryes and chanced to find employment in a print shop.
“My master and my mistress are incomers like myself. They came here not by chance, but for conscience sake. The mistress likes a cleanlie house, free from vermins, and there are many papers in the shop that require my care.
“I eat the leavings from their table, and warm myself at their fire. ’Tis not what my mother reared me for, but I’m content.”
All gave Kettie applauds, and sayt they hoped to hear more from him soon.
Kettie’s master and mistress, who came to London for “conscience sake”, i.e. their religion, are probably Protestant refugees from France or the Spanish Netherlands.
Incredible as Kettie’s life in Constantinople sounds, a surprising amount of what he says is confirmed by Baron Wenceslas Wratislaw, who went to Constantinople in 1591 and wrote a vivid account of his adventures in 1599.
Wratislaw was bemused by all the animal-feeding, commenting that: “…these superstitious and barbarous people imagine that they obtain especial favour in the eyes of God by giving alms even to irrational cattle, cats, dogs, fish, birds, and other live creatures….”
He was, however, impressed by how horses were treated, and how young men spent time together engaging in feats of horsemanship – in contrast to his own country, where the favoured pastime was eating too much and drinking even more.
Although Wratislaw was young (mid-teens), he travelled as part of an embassy sent by Rudolf II, Holy Roman Emperor, to the Ottoman Emperor Sultan Murat III.
His relatives entrusted him to the ambassador’s care because they wanted him to learn of eastern countries.
After he’d spent nearly two years in and around Constantinople, war broke out in Hungary between the two Empires.
The entire legation was imprisoned, and endured many hardships before they finally returned home in 1597.
It was during this war that the Earl of Southampton’s brother-in-law Thomas Arundell was awarded the “dog collar” that Tricks’ uncle Gib found so amusing.
The Earl of Southampton's Cat 
Poor Kettie, London must be a great disappointment after Constantinople.
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Poor Kettie, indeed. Particularly as he’s an accidental immigrant. But he seems prepared to make the best of it.
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He does. He’s very positive.
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That place seems wonderful for animals. We should all follow their good example.🐈🐈
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We should. Clearly, the cats of the recent documentary ‘Kedi’ had ancestors that Kettie and his sisters would have known.
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Constantinople seems such Exotic Jewel. 😎😎😎🥀🥀🥀
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It does. And it must have seemed particularly exotic to travellers from Europe.
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How interesting that the same cat-friendly culture has prevailed there for um, more than four centuries.
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It is. And how lucky we are that Tricks wrote down Kettie’s story, otherwise we might never have known.
What puzzles me is that animals often seem to have been treated very badly in Elizabethan England, yet the English are now a nation of animal lovers. Can a culture do a turnaround in a couple of centuries? Or did more than the outspoken puritans disapprove of the treatment animals received?
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Exactly. This is a conundrum. Or the Turks were just centuries ahead in their national consciousness.
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In truth, I must agree with Turkey Cat. . When I lived there 11 years ago, people were still kind to cats. Every day we fed over two dozen in our courtyard, mostly feral, but one mother cat and her kittens adopted us and lived inside.
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Have you seen that delightful documentary ‘Kedi’ about Istanbul and its cats?
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No, I will look for it! 🙂
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I’m sure you’ll enjoy it!
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Thanks, is it online, do you know?
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Check out this link, which offers some viewing options. I don’t know what the costs would be.
https://www.kedifilm.com/
I saw it in our Film Festival last year, and it went on general release after that.
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Thanks, I’ll check it out, although with my lagging computer, it might not be viable. Maybe smartphone?
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That could do it, though some of the stunning city vistas wouldn’t look so great.
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Yes, I ordered the DVD for my TV.
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Oh, it is on DVD, so I ordered it! 🙂
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Good! You’ll probably want to watch it more than once 🙂
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That’s what I figured, being such a fan of both kitties and Istanbul! ❤
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I got the DVD of Kedi and watched it tonight. Oh, it made me so homesick for Istanbul! ❤ Thanks for telling me about it! 🙂
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It’s a delight.
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Lovely post! And lovely painting! In Greece we often call Istanbul Constantinople still…
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I’ve never visited Istanbul, but I find the accounts of early European travellers there fascinating. Sultan Murat III was a great patron of the arts.
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It still is fascinating. You walk in the grand bazaar and the faces in the crowd are the same as the were all those years ago. You imagine yourself surrounded by Phoenicians, Syrians etc. And of course, the minute the stall holders hear you speak Greek, you’re invited in, given tea etc. And I’m not even getting started on the sights…
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Istanbul’s definitely on my “to see” list.
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You have really captured the feel and atmosphere of the symbiotic world revealed by the doco “Kedi”,in which the cats and people go about their daily lives. I too,am intrigued by how the English attitude towards animals transitioned over the centuries. Conversely and sadly, from what I have read, the status of cats in Egypt has diminished.
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Kettie told his tale well. And did well not to be led into speaking ill of London by those trouble-makers Picker and Stealer.
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I can confirm that even today both street cats and dogs were treated well in Istanbul. I was surprised because dogs are considered unclean in the Koran. Even in Egypt, my neighbors shared their Ramadan feasts with the dogs and cats. I looked longingly into a dish full of saffron chicken…😁
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Baron Wratislaw also refers to the Turks’ dislike of seeing wild birds in cages, and says they would buy them from the sellers and set them free.
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I didn’t know that – how wonderful!
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Ok, you’ve convinced me, just put “Kedi” in the Netflix queue.
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You’ll enjoy it! Not only the cats and the people, but the splendid city views. It’s a relaxing, leisurely watch – good after a busy day.
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I have just re-read and thoroughly enjoyed the last few posts. I and learning so much about Elizabethan Britain! May the story never end!
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Thanks!
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Fascinating! I did not know about Wenceslas. Poor Kettie, to live in the luxury of Constantinople and then be reduced to his bad treatment in England! I am with the Turks, respecting cats and all animals 🙂
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Wenceslas’ story is remarkable, full of the glamour, excitement, and brutality of his times. I kept thinking, as I read it, what a great doco it would make for the History Channel. He’s such a vivid writer, and was fortunate in his English translator – who, I guess, is probably related by descent or even a direct descendant.
The book’s downloadable free from the Internet Archive, which is my go-to for old texts.
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I was wondering if it was a free download! My go-to also. I’ll have to check it out!
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Reblogged this on Les deux divas: ma vie en rose.
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I’m sure the Divas loved it.
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It was the divas that demanded a reblog and Happy Cats = Happy Human…
Seriously, your posts are so much fun! They had this human convinced at MEOW! 🙂
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Just so long as the Divas don’t expect you to offer them their snacks on long sticks while they sit lofty on a wall…
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Never. They are very tolerant of this mere mortal… 🙂
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My grand-sons recently had a trip to Rome during a first-time stay in Europe, mainly in England. I asked them what they liked best there. The answer was “the cat sanctuary”. Apparently a lot of stray cats patrol the Roman Forum. Their ancestors could have some good tales to tell!
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They would! Interestingly, cats seem to have had a higher status in Renaissance Italy (or parts of it) than they did in England. They occasionally appear in portraits, and an early English traveller commented on the Italian liking for cats.
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This was Roxie’s favorite Tale so far. She tells me that the moral is to feed her and I will be granted special favors. I just gave her a kitty treat and she bit my hand!
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She wanted a first class air ticket to Istanbul and you tried to fob her off with a kitty treat?
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Denise, She’s easily bought! But with the few teeth she has left, she can really leave bite marks!
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Little ingrat.
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