Turkish quake rescuer adopts Enkaz, the cat that wouldn't leave his side

Animal charities rescue thousands of pets from rubble

Ali Cakas takes care of Enkaz (meaning ‘rubble), the cat he helped to rescue from debris in Gaziantep after the earthquake in Turkey. All photos: Getty Images

The cat is in safe hands after being adopted by the firefighter, 33

Mr Cakas and Enkaz at home

The cat had spent 129 hours trapped under rubble

Now, Enkaz has a new family home

Mr Cakas and his colleagues at Mardin Municipality Fire Department saved the cat

Enkaz enjoying his new home

It was a brief respite from suffering after the powerful earthquake that killed that more than 41,000 people in Turkey and levelled entire neighbourhoods.

A little cat called Enkaz, or “rubble,” was found alive and dishevelled in ruins by fireman Ali Cakas in the devastated city of Nurdagi in Gaziantep, the worst-hit province in southern Turkey.

Mr Cakas’s team gave the animal its new name and made it their mascot. He has now adopted the pet, providing updates on Enkaz’s progress on his Instagram page. He says the cat now shares his home in Mardin, southern Turkey.

Both Enkaz and Mr Cakas have gained international celebrity status since the rescue, and judging from Mr Cakas’s Instagram page, he has also helped at least one other cat and a big, scruffy brown dog.

Satellite images of Nurdagi show flattened buildings in the town, which had a population of about 40,000 before the quake. Health services and funeral houses in the city have been overwhelmed and many victims have been buried in mass graves.

But despite the immense human suffering, Turks have clung on to their long-held love of cats to boost morale and find comfort amid the devastation.

Turkish animal charities have been receiving help and donations from foreign animal organisations such as the International Fund for Animal Welfare, which says it has worked with the Haytap Animal Rights Federation, a group based in the devastated city of the same name. The organisation has helped not only animals but also people in distress during the course of their rescue efforts.

The NGO, which has sent rescuers into damaged buildings wearing hard hats, says it has rescued nearly 1,000 animals from ruined buildings or after finding them roaming the streets.