It’s International Cat Day today, so we’ve rounded up 5 of the best cities for cat-lovers where you’ll find them lounging all over the place – from seriously ancient ruins to cafes in the heart of one of the biggest metropolises in the world.

You probably won’t see as many cats hanging around here as you might do in other cities on our list, especially not in the busy Centro Storico where they’d have to dodge Vespas and noisy buses and people on Lime scooters driving badly. But we have to include Rome because not only is Italy a nation of cat lovers (and Romans especially so) but also because the cats here get to hangout in some of the coolest spots ever. It’s true – the the 20th-century Italian writer Giani Rodari once described the cats of Rome as ‘cultured cats’ that only hangout in ‘the most celebrated places’.

One of those places is the ancient complex that makes up the Colosseum, Forum, and Palatine Hill. Come here as close to closing time as possible and you’re more likely to spot them snoozing on the ruins. Another place to spot them is in the grounds of the city’s only surviving ancient Egyptian-style pyramid, in the Testaccio neighbourhood. They love to hangout in the non-Catholic cemetery next door too – the cemetery where Keats (alongside a whole bunch of others) is buried.

But far and away their most famous colony can actually be found in the very place Caesar is said to have been stabbed quite a few times by what he thought were his mates. Largo di Torre Argentina is both incredible, ancient ruin (now open for visitors too) and – more importantly – the best place to see cats in the whole of Rome. A local charity runs a shelter here, where the mostly women who look after the cats are known as gattare – the most famous of which was actually Italian actress Anna Magnani.

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If you wanna be guaranteed a cat sighting, then you gotta come to Istanbul. You’ll have so many cat friends you won’t know what to do with them (actually you will: put them in your backpack and smuggle them home – only joking!).

Cats are everywhere, making Istanbul one of, if not the best, cities for cat lovers. They’re sleeping on a car roof, they’re crossing the Bosphurus on the ferry, they’re pulling up a chair next to you at breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Ernest Hemingway, talking about the city, once wrote, “One cat just leads to another.” But the unspoken rule here is that the cats both belong to no-one and everyone. They keep their independence and love for roaming the city streets, but they also don’t have to fight to find food and water, because everyone looks after them.

It doesn’t take much to stumble upon a cat here, but there are still areas where your chances of a sighting are extra likely. On the European side of the city you’ve got the boho Cihangir district, which is said to have received its cat population from ships that docked at the nearby harbour. Cats are so prevalent here they even inspired a comic strip character called Bad Cat Şerafettin, a thug cat whose adventures were later made into an animated comedy. On the Anatolian side, there’s the trendy area of Moda with its seaside promenade and cozy streets, where you can see cats by taking a stroll in the Maçka, Göztepe, and Fenerbahçe parks.

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Like in Rome, the cats in Athens also have a habit of snoozing in jaw-dropping ancient ruins. You’ll spot them around the Acropolis complex, especially in the Ancient Agora. The cats here are known as ‘gata’ and you’ll find them in all the little side alleys and bushes.

One area particularly known for its cats is the Plaka district which sits in the shadow of the Acropolis and is like its own village within the bustling city. It’s much quieter here, and much more cat-friendly. Plus you’re within walking distance from a lot of the major attractions here, so you can tie some cat-spotting in with your tour of the city.

Cats have made Athens their home for centuries, and they stick around thanks to that lovely Mediterranean weather. It’s also why the populations is so large here  – the warmer weather means that they have more litters throughout the year.

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It’s pretty difficult to think of a city more built-up and busy than Tokyo. It’s pretty much the opposite of a cat’s preferred environment. And yet Tokyo is one of the best cities for cat-lovers, and where they reign supreme, both on the streets and in the hearts of its residents. Cats are both cherished pets here, as well as free-roaming citizens, known as noraneko.

You’ll find them in various neighbourhoods, especially around temples, parks, and in more residential areas. Yanaka is an area particularly known for its noraneko population, so much so that it’s often referred to as ‘Cat Town’, with its relaxed, old Tokyo atmosphere, all narrow streets and traditional houses.

But Tokyo is Tokyo. It’s (really) big and really loud, so in the centre of the city, your best best to see cats is at one of the many ‘cat cafes’ here – after-all, this is the city where the cat cafe craze began. Famous ones include Nekorobi in Ikebukuro and Cat Café Calico in Shinjuku, as well as Temari no Oshiro Cat Cafe, which looks like the castle of a magical cat­-kingdom straight out of a fairytale.

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Cairo is one of the best cities for cat-lovers just by virtue of being where cats are said to have been first domesticated – several thousand years ago. If cats belong to anyone, they belong to Egyptians. In ancient Egypt, they were on par with gods. Like the all-powerful sun god Ra, who was sometimes addressed as “Supreme Tomcat.” In the Book of the Dead, the cat was considered as important as the sun, which was a pretty big statement because the ancient Egyptians believed the instructions, spells and hymns in this text would help them navigate the journey from this world to the next.

Besides being considered as up there with the gods (nothing’s changed, then), cats were also revered for their excellent pest-catching skills – very useful when your prized possession was your mountains of grain. In present-day Cairo, the cat is still considered a symbol of good luck, but a surge in the population size in recent years has led to many strays struggling to survive.

This way for cheap flights to Cairo