Happy National Shelter and Rescue Appreciation Week. 🐱

Did you know a 2019 study estimated around 80% of Austinites own a pet? That means pet ownership is more common in the Capital City, relative to national data.

We wanted to celebrate the occasion with four furry siblings all the way from Kuwait. 🥺

While on deployment with the Army Corps of Engineers in Kuwait City last spring, Turkish Austinite Burhan Girgin got a call to rescue four kittens stuck under a manhole cover. With no mother in sight, Burhan took the cats to the vet and cared for them for the next five months.

Burhan gave the brothers Turkish names: Minoş, meaning "cute little thing"; Tarçin, meaning cinnamon; Aziz, which means "powerful saint," and the last one saved was named Kismet.

When it came time to return home, Burhan brought the kittens with him. Despite his love for them, he said he realized his small condo wasn't big enough for four growing cats.

Through the Positive Alternatives to Shelter Surrender program at Austin Pets Alive!, Burhan is now inviting you to adopt the seven-month-old Aziz, Minoş, Tarçin and Kismet — preferably in pairs or all together. Click here for more information.