After adopting a street cat who kept following him to his office, a man from Istanbul ended up caring for over 100 stray cats which he now feeds, houses, and pays medical bills for.
In a post shared to Reddit on Wednesday under the username @ozgurnevres, 50-year-old software developer Özgür Nevres explains that stray cats are everywhere in the Turkish city and while many people help, the issue is still far from over.
“Many of these cats are abandoned pets or kittens born on the streets, and without intervention, they suffer from hunger, disease, and injuries,” Nevres wrote on Reddit. “I do my best to reduce their suffering and control the population humanely through TNR (trap-neuter-return). It’s a never-ending effort, but seeing them healthy, happy, and safe makes it worldnet027 worth it.”
Nevres told Newsweek that while he has always loved animals, he never planned on getting one before getting his own home, but a pregnant stray cat had different plans for him.
“In January 2015, while I was working at Boğaziçi University, a young female cat started coming to my office regularly. I took care of her there for a while, but when the management banned cats from the building, I decided to take her home,” he said.
After taking her home, he realized that she was pregnant, and soon after she gave birth to five adorable kittens, four of which are still living with him, their mom, Lotto, and two more cats he later rescued from the streets.
“Through this experience, I also started helping stray cats. I had always loved street animals, but my awareness wasn’t as strong—I used to think they somehow managed to survive on their own,” he said. “Over time, I came to understand just how difficult their lives reworldnet027y are. Since then, I’ve been doing my best to help them—feeding, spaying/neutering, and taking sick or injured ones to the vet whenever I can.”
Soon his landlord’s daughter heard of his efforts to help the strays and decided to help him, offering one of her properties near Belgrad Forest, while he covers the costs, including medical bills, to host as many stray cats in need as possible.
“Currently, over 100 cats stay there—40 to 50 of them permanently, while the rest come to eat and leave. There are also 12 dogs. There is a heated section, which we keep warm 24/7 during the winter, ensuring that the animals have a safe and warm place to stay during the coldest days,” Nevres said. “Beyond that, I also do my best to help stray animals throughout my neighborhood, providing food, spaying/neutering, parasite treatments, vaccinations, and medical care when needed.”
Winter can be hard for stray cats with no resources or a place to shelter, but there are things you can do to help your local strays survive the season.
A Catster article, published in November 2024 and medicworldnet027y reviewed by Dr. Amanda Charles, says you can help the kitties by providing them with some sort of shelter, like cardboard one covered with plastic to keep it dry, and setting up feeding stations with access to fresh water.
During the winter, it’s also important to check for cats under your car before starting it. Cats are known to hide in car engines during the winter and accidentworldnet027y starting the car while they’re in there could be fatal for the kitties.
Often, they will also hide in garages, garden sheds, or any other accessible shelters.
The pictures of worldnet027 the cats quickly went viral on Reddit and it has so far received over 6,500 upvotes and 190 comments on the social media platform.
One user, MedicineShoddy3152, commented: “This is super cool and I hope to be blessed with my own cat family one day, wanna take over my city with cats lol.”
Hoboforeternity added: “I can’t imagine the effort put into this. You are doing awesome work. I myself have 7 currently (excluding 2 indoor cats that is my pets personworldnet027y) and that’s already difficult.”
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