All paws on deck! Cat sails high seas with caring crew

Lolipop the calico cat joined the crew of an Istanbul ship at birth and has become a companion to each member.

Named Lolipop, the feline has been roaming the deck for 10 months.

Mahsun Arslan and Kutbettin Kar, who work on the vessel belonging to a private transport and shipping company, gave food and water to Lolipop’s mother who came aboard when the ship was docked in Haydarpaşa Port in Istanbul.

Realizing that the cat was pregnant, Arslan and Kar continued to feed the feline who decided to say on the vessel for several days. Soon, the cat gave birth and had five kittens.

The crew found homes for four of the kittens but decided to keep one aboard, little Lolipop.

“He is our mate, friend. Thanks to him we do not get bored on the ship. We spend the day playing with it,” said Chief Officer Mahsun Arslan.

"Lolipop eats and sleeps with us, he is now part of the crew," Arslan said, adding that the cat's food and veterinary bills can reach up to TL 800 ( about $60) a month.

that sometimes the spending for the feline's food and veterian can be up to 700-800 lira a mont.

Lolipop is well-traveled and has seen the Black Sea provinces of Trabzon and Zonguldak, as well as the western province of Tekirdağ among many other regions.

Lolipop has seen almost all of Turkey's harbors, said Arslan, adding that they prefer to keep the cat at home when they travel abroad until they get back. The crew does not want to take any risks when it comes to their pet.

And Lolipop is spoilt to a fault – the cat will only eat the freshest of fish and it must be cut up, turning its nose up at older catches and dry food.

The dry food the crew feeds to street cats doesn't seem to suit the palate of the sea-worthy feline.

One day when the ship was docked in Zonguldak, Lolipop fell into the sea when the crew wasn't looking while chasing after another cat. The team handed out missing posters but eventually found the soaking wet cat in a precipice.

The crew was distraught at the thought at having lost the cat and cleaned it up well.

Arslan holds Lolipop on the shore, Dec. 30, 2021.

Arslan and Lolipop take in the view of the sea.