A Russian waste-sorting plant worker Mikhail Tukash

A cat Mikhail Tukash saved lands on its feet in the minister’s chair

Mikhail Tukash scooping up a white plastic bag from a conveyor belt

When a Russian waste-sorting plant worker rescued a cat from imminent death, he had no idea it would end up with an honorary title and napping in a government official’s chair.

Surveillance footage at the plant in Ulyanovsk, a city located around 700 km (435 miles) southeast of Moscow, showed worker Mikhail Tukash scooping up a white plastic bag from a conveyor belt and slashing it open to discover a black and white male cat inside.

“The cat wasn’t meowing and the bag wasn’t moving,” Tukash told local television. “I needed to cut the bag to screen it for metals. I was just doing my job.” “I felt something soft inside the bag,” he said. Later, he was honored by local authorities for the rescue, told the Moscow-based daily newspaper Moskovsky Komsomolets.

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“We’re taking the cat to our ministry and all employees will take responsibility for it,” said the region’s environmental affairs minister, Gulnara Rakhmatulina. The cat’s rescue, broadcast on television and social media, has made him a local celebrity. He has been adopted by the Ulyanovsk region’s environment ministry and unofficially given the position of deputy environment minister.

“The cat was on the brink of death,” the ministry said. “A little longer and it would have ended up in the trash separator.”

Pictures from the ministry showed the cat napping in the Rakhmatulina’s chair in the office and exploring its new home. The ministry has announced a nationwide contest to choose a name for the cat, which it said was found to be in good health after a vet examined him.

“I want to appeal to pet owners: remember that you are responsible for those you have tamed,” Rakhmatulina said. “If you can’t keep your pet at home, you can always leave it in good hands or at a shelter.”

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