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Street animals are among the cutest members of city life. With whom we share our shared living space, the streets, these creatures need our support to hold on to life. It is not as difficult as we think to help these animals that we sometimes pass by stroking their heads and color our lives. If you wish, you can start taking simple but effective steps to protect the right to life of our little friends. If you are ready, let's explore together what we can do to help stray animals.

1. Share Your Water

Water, our source of life, is also crucial for street animals because access to clean water may not always be easy for stray animals. There is always difficulty in finding water due to drought in summer and frozen waters in winter. For this reason, leaving a bowl of clean water in front of your house is the easiest way to help stray animals. Putting water close to the heat to prevent the water from getting colder during the winter months will make our little friends grateful to you.

2. Keep Small Packed Foods in Your Bag

Stray animals undoubtedly have the most food in the city. Therefore, it is possible to feed stray animals with food, which cannot be hunted enough due to their instincts. Dry food, which is sold separately for cats and dogs in almost every market, is ideal for this job. You can fill many hungry stomachs with these packaged foods that you will keep in your bag or car.

3. Share Your Leftover Meals With Attention to Hygiene

If you cannot carry dry food, you can share your leftover home meals with street animals. However, there are a few things you should pay attention to at this point. First of all, it is necessary to know that the metabolism of animals is different from humans. For example, sugary foods that we love to consume are very harmful to cats and dogs. Similarly, the foods you want to share with street animals should not be too oily and spicy. Now, when sharing dishes, it is also necessary to ensure that there are no toothpicks or napkin-like wastes that could harm animals. Finally, do not forget that we should not neglect our environment while helping stray animals with this method. Do not forget to collect or throw away the containers containing the food you left to share with stray animals. Remember, especially in the hot summer months, food left out in the available spoils more quickly, creating a risk of poisoning for stray animals.

4. Find out if there is a veterinarian in your neighborhood

Struggling to survive on the street can be hurtful for street animals. If you think an animal is in pain or that you notice it is injured, you can take it to the vet. That's because most vets don't charge for the treatment of street fans. In more urgent cases, it is also possible to ask for help from the municipalities. For example, it is enough for Istanbul to call ALO 153 and ask for help from the White Desk.

5. Protect Them in Cold Weather

Especially the winter months are pretty tough for animals living on the street. In addition to finding food and water, street animals need to find a warm place during these months. Creating safe areas to protect animals from the cold is not as difficult as you might think. Making cat houses by lining cardboard boxes with styrofoam and plastic can also help you spend quality family time. Another option is to buy plastic or chipboard huts produced for street animals at reasonable prices. We want to remind you of an essential detail that you should not ignore in cold weather. Considering the cats who prefer the warm and protected environment of the engine, please do not forget to knock on the hood a few times before getting into your vehicle.

6. Support the Ownership Network

You may be keeping a distance from the decision to have a pet, which requires dedication and awareness. However, this does not prevent you from working for the welfare of stray animals. When we feel the power of social media in every sense, social networks also mediate to find a permanent home for stray animals. Thanks to the shares made by the volunteers, both the animals in the shelter and the street animals have a safer future. By including these shares on your social media, you can help these calls reach more people.

7. Support Animal Shelters

Animal shelters, which try to keep many animals safe with a small number of employees, always keep their doors open to volunteers. You can support and spend time with animals by visiting animal shelters. You can also donate food to animal shelters. Countless communities and platforms that you can help with regular donations also accept instant contributions. Maybe this year, a birthday gift from a close friend could be a food donation.

8. Maybe It's Time to Adopt a Pet

Unfortunately, the streets are filled with abandoned animals after being bought on a whim from pet stores. Moreover, street life is much more difficult for these creatures, who yearn for a loving home. If you want to experience the indescribable happiness of sharing your life with a pet, you can open your home to one of the stray animals. If you have reservations about keeping pets at home, you can protect stray animals by putting food and water in your apartment garden.