A family court in Istanbul has finalized the divorce of a couple, issuing an unusual ruling that grants the custody of their two cats to the ex-wife and orders the husband to pay a quarterly maintenance fee.
The pair, Buğra B. and Ezgi B., who married two years ago and did not have any children, jointly owned two cats that became part of their divorce protocol.
According to the case file, Buğra B. filed for divorce on grounds of irreconcilable differences, stating that their marriage had broken down beyond repair and that reconciliation was no longer possible.
In the mutual agreement submitted to the court, he accepted paying 550,000 Turkish Liras (around $13,000) in material compensation to his former spouse. While neither party requested spousal support, the protocol included a rare clause on pet custody.
The document specified that the cats would remain with Ezgi B., and that for up to ten years, Buğra B. would pay 10,000 liras every three months to cover their care, with the amount to be adjusted annually in line with Consumer Price Index and Producer Price Index (CPI-PPI) rates.
Concluding the proceedings, the Istanbul Family Court approved the couple’s consensual divorce and upheld the cat's custody and maintenance arrangement, which now stands as an example of growing recognition of animals as part of family life.
