A middle-aged truck driver in China who travels around the country with three adopted stray cats has trended on mainland social media after being featured in a local news story.
For the last two years, a 56-year-old truck driver, surnamed Wang, from Zhejiang province in eastern China, has been taking three adopted stray cats to live in his truck while he is working, Jiguang News reported.
Wang said that he adopted his first cat in 2020 after stumbling upon a hungry stray looking for food in a garbage bin.
Nine months later, Wang adopted another cat, before he rescued a third stray feline that he found abandoned and covered in dirt.
Wang adopted two more cats, bringing the total to five, but said his truck was already too full with the first three cats so he left the other two with family and friends.
Wang, who has spent most of his life living on the road while working as a driver, has converted his truck into a safe and comfortable home for the three cats.
In videos of his cats posted on social media, Wang shows off his converted truck and introduces his three feline passengers.“Please go to sleep, be quick,” Wang says in one video to the cats as they lie in their beds.
Other videos show the cats playing and lounging around the truck and looking relaxed and happy. In one clip, a cat slips into a mini bunk bed inside the driver’s cabin and curls up into a ball, as another cat nesting in its bed stares at Wang expectantly.
Wang said he enjoys travelling with the cats beside him while he works.
“I drive alone, and I have to take good care of them,” he said.
As most travel accommodation options do not allow pets, Wang said he just sleeps in the truck with the cats.
He added that it was sometimes a challenge feeding and cleaning up after three cats on the road, but he said he would continue to keep them as they are his “family”.
“As I’ve decided to adopt them, I must take the responsibility,” he said.
The story of Wang and his furry family has been seen by millions of mainland netizens who praised Wang for his generosity and kindness.
One person said: “They sleep in a mini bunk bed! So adorable.”
Another said: “Having such lovely creatures to keep him company, he will be safe wherever he drives.”
Stories about pets and their owners are increasingly popular on mainland social media. In November, a video of a woman from Jiangsu province in eastern China disciplining her two dogs after they ran away from home as though they were naughty children trended online.
In the same month, a stray cat was filmed giving a fish to a woman as a present, to the delight of internet users.
