It all began when a customer took a video of Turkish butcher Ikram Korkmazer and his adopted cat Yeşim inside their shop in the province of Manisa. The video recorded by one of Korkmazer's customers quickly went viral all around the world after Korkmaz himself and a local animal charity shared it on social media. The video has racked up millions of views.
In the video, Yeşim the cat is seen leaning over the butcher's meat display fridge, carefully eyeing up and down all of her choices as a regular customer would do. Korkmazer, affectionately welcoming him, dangles pieces of meat before the cat, waiting for the animal to stretch its paws. Once it gestures, the butcher gives the piece to Yeşim.
US-based media firm acquires the rights to a video of a Turkish butcher feeding his adopted cat "Yeşim" after it racks up millions of viewshttps://t.co/a7mps2XiSw pic.twitter.com/yM9B4oPgLT
— DAILY SABAH (@DailySabah) April 26, 2018
"She was always like this, she would always go for the organ meats; liver, kidney, spleen and heart are her favorites. She is not interested ribs or steak," explained Korkmazer, jokingly responding to criticisms that he is intentionally giving the cat cheaper meat.
The butcher said that Yeşim used to be stray cat before he took her in, and that he had been looking after her four years now.
"I had taken in her mother as well and Yeşim is more accustomed to visit here. She acts like our human customers and even waits in line if there are other customers. I talk to her as if she were a human being and she visits the shop sometimes six times a day. Feeding Yeşim costs me much, but I don't regret it. I like animals," he told Doğan News Agency.
According to 46-year-old Korkmazer, the U.S.-based media firm Jukin Media approached him to acquire the rights to the viral video and they made a deal. According to the deal, Korkmazer is set to receive 60 percent of the royalties generated by the video.
Korkmazer said he first started working as an apprentice butcher when he was just 9 years old to help his family out. He also said he had never thought of recording their daily meat selection process with Yeşim as he considered it to be quite an ordinary thing.
