Istanbul: Road worker saves kitten with breath of life

ISTANBUL

After being swept away by floodwaters to the brink of death, a lucky kitten in Istanbul was rescued by a road worker turned life saver.

When he saw the stray kitten lying still, deposited by heavy rains in the metropolis on Wednesday, city worker Metin Keskin gave it the breath of life.

“It’s very healthy now. I’m so happy, too. It’s become our kitten now,” Keskin told reporters on Thursday at an animal care center in the neighborhood of Tepeoren.

He recounted how he came across the kitten in the city’s neighborhood of Pendik, where workers were sent to clear away floodwaters.

“We saw the kitten on the roadside. When we first took it in our hands, it was unconscious, it wasn’t making any sound,” Keskin said.

But then after massaging it and giving it mouth-to-mouth resuscitation -- first aid skills taught by the city government -- the kitten revived, and let out a weak meow, he added.

"We did our duty, and we’re happy," he said.

Keskin said the kitten belongs to Istanbul, and asked locals to help give it a name.

Mevlut Maytalman, a veterinarian, said the kitten had suffered hypothermia due to getting soaked and losing body heat.

“We started treating it immediately,” Maytalman said, adding that the kitten is doing well now.

He said after 24 hours of observation, it will go to a new home.

* Writing by Sena Guler