VIP guest at the premiere: in Turkey, a cat was allowed into a cinema screening Christopher Nolan’s “The Odyssey”

While cinema-goers in some countries are asked not to make noise and to switch off their phones, in Turkey audiences happily make room... for stray cats.

A video filmed in a Turkish cinema is rapidly gaining popularity on social media. The footage shows an orange cat calmly walking into the auditorium during a screening of Christopher Nolan’s new film “The Odyssey”, before settling among the audience as if it had bought a ticket for the best showing in advance.

The audience does not chase the unexpected guest away. On the contrary — many people smile, take out their phones and film the furry “film critic”. Judging by the reaction, no one was surprised to see the cat: in Turkey, stray animals have traditionally been treated with great respect and care.

For the country, this has long been part of urban culture. Stray cats are regularly fed, while shelters, water bowls and even small refuges are set up for them near shops, cafés and residential buildings. In many cities, cats freely enter restaurants, libraries, universities, municipal buildings and shops, where they are regarded as full-fledged residents rather than unwanted guests.

Now cinemas appear to have joined that list. Social media users joke that the cat simply decided to watch the year’s most talked-about film “the way Nolan intended”, while some have even called it “Turkey’s most cultured viewer”.

The viral clip once again reminded people why Turkey is often called a true paradise for cats. They have long become an integral part of urban life here — to such an extent that their appearance even at a cinema screening is perceived more as a charming tradition than an unusual incident. The video itself attracted hundreds of thousands of views in a short time and continues to spread across social media.