The Cyclist Who Saved A Kitten And Carries Her To Safety In His Shirt

We at Cats.com are in constant search for feline inspiration across the web and this time we have something really cool for you guys, Ozgur Nevres is a modern day cat hero that made headlines across the web when we rescued a young kitten while cycling on his bike.

Here’s the video in case you missed it:

So we caught up with Ozgur to hear more  about his inspirational story.

When And How Did You Rescue A Cat For The First Time?

I think the first time was in February 2015, when I adopted my lovely Lotto. It turned out she was pregnant, and she gave birth to five kittens. Around that time the winter was harsh and probably they wouldn’t survive outside, at least not all of them. So I may consider it the first rescue.

Then I started rescuing cats and other animals.

The first “true” rescue was back in September 2015, when I found a crying kitten at the university campus where was working. I fed him and took care of him for around a week and then found him a loving home.

Why Cats? Have You Rescued Other Animals And Do You Have Any Other Pets?

I rescued birds and hedgehogs before. I like all animals but I do not have any other pets than cats. Because I live in a small apartment and I have four cats already. They also do not want any other animals around, including other cats.

What Is Something Surprising You’ve Learned From Rescuing Cats?

Maybe not so surprising, but I realized how hard a cat’s, or in general, an animal’s life. Even just being alive is an uphill battle they fought every single day. Finding food and water, and shelter when needed, really hard and sometimes impossible for them.

They also like being loved, like being happy, just like humans. Unfortunately, most animals die without knowing what being loved feels like.

I always liked cats and animals but I wasn’t paying attention before I adopted Lotto. I was thinking “well, they are living somehow”.

Have You Ever Decided To Keep A Cat You Initially Intended To Re-home?

Not “decided” but I thought about keeping them for a few times. But, as I said above, I live in a small apartment and I already have four cats. So I didn’t keep any of them so far.

Do You Have Any Advice For Others Who’ve Found An Apparently Stray Cat Or Kitten?

My advice would be:

• First, make sure that s/he is really orphaned. I mean there is no mother around. You don’t want to separate the kitten from its mother unintentionally. You can understand that inspecting the kitten’s status. If s/he is very very hungry and dirty, then most probably the poor kitten lost her mother.
• There may be other kittens from the same litter around. So check for them also. Don’t leave them behind, if any.
• Dry the kitten if it’s wet.
• If kitten’s body temperature is too low, your first priority should be warming it up. Even if it’s summer. Special hot-water bottles work well. Wrap a towel around a hot-water bottle and put the kitten on it. You can use anything warm. If the situation is urgent and there’s nothing warm around, use your own body heat – hold it against your bare skin and warm up the kitten with your body. You can periodically rub it with your hands to raise its temperature. Avoid feeding a chilled kitten – until it’s warm.
• If the kitten is too young, you should feed it with watered-down kitten milk powder (milk replacement for kittens). You can easily do that using a syringe.
• Bring the kitten to a veterinary as soon as possible, for a health-check and further assistance/advice.

Make sure you visit Ozgur’s blog Lotto the Cat