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19 November 2019, 17:37 | Updated: 19 November 2019, 17:41
This musician has 19 rescue cats, and they all love their piano-playing human more than anything. But there’s also a wonderful story behind the music.
A Turkish pianist has become an Internet sensation, thanks to his incredibly wholesome collection of cat videos.
Sarper Duman, a 28-year-old pianist and music teacher, rescues abandoned street cats and brings them into his home.
His Instagram feed is filled with videos of cats enjoying his beautiful piano music. It’s all incredibly cute – but there’s also an important motive behind Duman’s playing.
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About 10 years ago, Duman had depression and attempted suicide. After spending a long time in recovery – he says on a Facebook video profile – he found himself in a park one day, and a cat crawled up to him.
And just as he needed help, so – he discovered – did the cat.
Cut to a few years later, and Duman looks after not one, not two, but 19 rescue cats.
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After posting a video of one of the cats enjoying his playing, Duman’s Instagram page went from having 300 to 55,000 followers overnight. The clip, it turns out, had been shared by Ellen DeGeneres and Zayn Malik, and watched 93 million times.
Duman’s videos resonated with his followers – and now, over a million people enjoy his beautiful videos of cats listening to piano music.
But 19 cats are a lot for one man to look after. So, Duman has set up a Patreon page to help drum up support for the cats.
“I am doing my best to cover their food, litter, and clinic expenses,” Duman writes on his Patreon page.
“I also try to provide for the stray animals around my house and office by feeding them and taking them to the clinic when it is needed. From time to time, some people abandon sick and wounded cats outside my home or office.
“Thanks to you and your endless support,” he says, “I have been able to help these poor animals to get the necessary medical treatment.”
If you want to watch Sarper’s videos, check out his Instagram page – and if you want to help him look after his cats, you can become a patron here.