Turkish girl travels with cat perched on shoulder like a parrot
Özge Kübra Teymur bikes along a road with her cat Azman resting on her shoulders, Rize, Turkey, April 20, 2021. (DHA Photo)


Some cats or dogs are truly inseparable from their owners and such is the case with Özge Kübra Teymur and her cat "Azman." The ginger tabby spends his days perched atop Teymur’s shoulders and comes with her wherever she goes: hiking in the mountains, discovering new towns and even to her wedding.

Teymur now plans on taking Azman with her on her honeymoon as well.

Working in Artvin's Arhavi district as a midwife in Turkey’s northeastern Black Sea region, Teymur adopted Azman when the cat was only 2 months old and they have been entangled ever since. She has even come to be known as the "Girl with Cat."

Özge Kübra Teymur poses for a photo with her cat Azman resting on her shoulder against a backdrop of forests and mountains, Rize, Turkey, April 20, 2021. (DHA Photo)
Özge Kübra Teymur sits on a rock on a mountain with her cat Azman sitting on her lap, Rize, Turkey, April 20, 2021. (DHA Photo)

"Azman has been in my life for two years. It was supposed to be temporary when he was a kitten but then we couldn't be separated," Teymur said and added, "When he was a kitten, I would put him in my fanny pack and we would wander around, and now he sits on my shoulder, and we travel a lot because we love it."

What makes Azman catch the attention of passersby even more than being perched on Teymur’s shoulder like a parrot is the colorful attire he wears.

"People find the fact that he sits on my shoulder strange. Most of his clothes are made by my mum, some are by me. We sometimes have matching outfits," Teymur told Demirören News Agency (DHA).

Özge Kübra Teymur and her cat Azman, resting on her shoulders, are the center of attention, particularly for kids, as they bike across the city, Rize, Turkey, April 20, 2021. (DHA Photo)
Özge Kübra Teymur's cat Azman sits on top of a wooden stool wearing a strikingly colorful dress, Rize, Turkey, April 20, 2021. (DHA Photo)

"Now we (Teymur and her partner) have plans for a honeymoon abroad. I haven’t even thought of leaving Azman here. He will come with us. Our cat was at our wedding as well. The registrar was a little nervous about the cat, but he was with us every moment of our wedding. He couldn't be at our wedding table, so we sat him on a chair," she said.

Azman rests on the shoulders of Özge Kübra Teymur as they bike across a plateau in Rize, Turkey, April 20, 2021. (DHA Photo)

Teymur noted that wherever she goes in the city, she is expected to bring her feline plus one. "They (the locals) know I will turn up with my cat, so they invite knowingly," she added.

Teymur seems to have converted her husband Fırat into an animal lover as well. "Before I met Özge, I didn't like animals as much as her. After I saw her affection, I started loving animals more," he said.

"Our travel plans, everything is built around the cat. We went up to the mountains, we camped, and the cat was with us every step of the way. When my wife goes to work, I take him with me to go shopping. We never leave him alone."

"Azman brings color into our lives."