Professor Abuzer Tas of the Veterinarian Studies at Van’s Century University in Van City, Turkey has stated that the city’s 7.1 magnitude earthquake has upset the cat population to the point of making them suicidal.
The quake hit on October 23, 2011. The professor, a lecturer at the Faculty of Veterinarian Studies, explained that since then the cats have displayed the psychological effects of the event by trying to jump from excessive heights.
This extreme behavior has been seen through the substantial increase in broken bones veterinarians have been treating. However, he did not have any numbers to quantify his argument.
Tas believes the suicide attempts are from increased periods of confinement cats have been enduring since last October. The confinement has, in turn, made them restless, and the jumps are escape attempts. The quakes, one in October and another in November, killed 672 people and injured over 6,000.
Have Turkish Cats Become Suicidal Over Earthquakes?
