Neighborhood Rewards Beloved Cat With Memorial After Death

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 | October 4, 2016 | By Brian Delpozo

A neighborhood cat was so beloved that a statue was built for him after he passed away.

The cat, know as Tombili, was well known in the Istanbul neighborhood where he lived. While it’s unclear if the animal had any type of permanent shelter, he was fed and taken care of by many in the area.

The feline gained international notoriety earlier this year when a photo of the portly cat casually lounging was posted by 9GAG and quickly spread among other social media sites.

As his social media fame blossomed, other photos of Tombili in similar poses began to appear, only bolstering his reputation.

Nası bi kedi bu yarabbim #bigboss #cat #street #emribenverdim #mafia

A photo posted by Yakup Yükseler (@ykpykseler) on May 21, 2015 at 8:40am PDT

Sadly, the cat’s fame came toward the end of his life. He became sick with an undisclosed illness over the summer, and passed away in August. Initially a small memorial popped up at the spot of his famous snapshot.

??? Tespih ve çay montajıyla ünlenen ‘Tombili’ hayatını kaybetti. 🙁 İstanbul'da Ziverbey'de yaşayan, kilosu nedeniyle mahallelinin 'Tombili' adını taktığı, kaldırım taşına yaslanmış pozuyla ünü Türkiye sınırlarını da aşan Ziverbey'in 'bıçkın abisi' yaşam savaşında yenik düştü ve 1 Ağustos’ta hayatını kaybetti. #AnadoluKedisi #catsofinstagram #catsofistanbul #kedicidergisi #instacat #catandog #petsagram #hayvanlarburaya #catslover #kediaşkı #cats #tombili #kedidelileri #kedi

A photo posted by Lale Arpacıoğlu Küçükkiper (@lalekper) on Aug 9, 2016 at 12:33pm PDT

Translated, it read:

“You will live in our hearts. Mascot of our street, beloved TOMBILI lost his struggle for life after a month and closed his eyes to life on first of August.”

A petition was launched calling for a more permanent memorial. It quickly gained 17,000 signatures, leading to its approval.

A statue mimicking Tombili’s pose from the famous 9GAG photo was erected in the spot where it was taken.

Bir Tombili kac yılda yetişiyor farkında mısınız? Teşekkürler @kadikoybelediye si pic.twitter.com/6Wtg91NpRE

— ateshirsizi (@atesinhirsizi) October 3, 2016

The statue was officially publicly unveiled on October 3, and a great many photos of the piece have already been shared on social media.