A very lucky kitten, later named “Enkaz” or “Rubble” in English, was pulled from debris following earthquakes in Turkey. The cat was trapped under a collapsed building for 10 days and nights.
Two earthquakes hit the Hatay province following twin earthquakes two weeks prior, leaving destruction everywhere and as many as 47,000 people died across Turkey and Syria.
Images via Instagram/jcaks_1
Once freed from the wreckage, Enkas (or Incus) refused to leave the side of a Turkish firefighter. So, he took the cat home and adopted him, giving him his name. But many said his name should have been, “Miracle” after surviving the ordeal unscathed aside from being covered in soot.
Later, the fire department decided the kitty would be their unofficial mascot.
Video by WQAD News 8:
Incus and His New Cat Dad
Videos showing the handsome 33-year-old fireman with Incus on his side went viral. The adoring feline nuzzled him while he smiled, a ray of hope amidst the ruins.
Although he’s a firefighter, he’s wearing a mountain bike helmet and down-hilling goggles. That’s because he is also a competitive mountain biker and coach for the Turkish National Team for cross-country named Ali Cakas.
Video by ABC7:
Enkas and His Dad Became Stars
Following all the buzz about the cute duo, an official Instagram for them appeared called “The Enkaz & Star 🌟.” The page features fun fan art and updates on how Enkas and Cakas are doing. Enkas has his Cat Dad wrapped around his paw, and you can see they’re doing great!
Image via Instagram/enkaz.tr
Cakas appeared in an interview and said the following, as translated by a kind person on the page:
“As the Mardin fire department, we went to the earthquake area. We saved people and animals. One of those cats was ‘Enkaz.’ The cat has never left my side. I said, ‘I have to adopt this cat. A very docile and intelligent cat.'”
The page also shows the firefighters working with search and rescue dogs.
A recent picture shows Cakas preparing to take a flight along with his harnessed kitty.
Raising Awareness for Rescuing Animals
Cakas also helped bring focus to rescuers saving cats in the devastated area. He met with a Marilyn Monroe look-alike from Mardin named Melek Karahan, who is helping with the efforts.
Melek Karahan with rescued cats.
The well-known rescuer spends 90 percent of her earnings on stray animals and ran a cat shelter before the earthquakes struck.
“We visited our Mardin in order to provide food support to Ms. Angel, who is known for her similarity Marilyn Monroe, who is also an animal lover. We are delivering the help from you to all the regions and our friends in need.”
For more, you can follow Enkas and Ali Cakas on Instagram.
