Winter in the Turkish town of Terkirdag has been particularly cold this year, but a local cat lover has come up with an ingenious solution that allows stray cats in her neighborhood to escape the chill – installing a tiny metal ladder leading up into her cozy apartment.

Sebnem Ilhan couldn’t just sit by and let the stray cats freeze to death, so she decided to open up her home to them. But since inviting them in through the front door wasn’t going to work, she had to come up with a more practical solution. The window seemed like the best choice, but even though her apartment is on the ground floor of an apartment building, the window is still to high for cats to jump on to. So she had a tiny metal ladder made that the strays could climb to reach her window.

The ladder is only wide enough for small animals to climb, and the metal bars on the window ensure that no uninvited guests make it into Sebnem’s home. It’s easy for cats to get in, though, and photos shared by the Turkish animal lover show them eagerly taking her up on her offer.

Ilhan, who works as a dentist, was worried that her cat ladder would upset he neighbors, so she decided to beautify it with some potted plants. “I thought if I put some flower pots there, it wouldn’t bother anyone,” she told The Dodo. But it turned out her worries were unfounded, as her initiative received positive feedback both from the neighbors and millions of animal lovers around the world.

“I made the ladder so the cats can come into my comfortable house,” Sebnem said, adding that countless kitties have accepted her invitation so far, attracted by the prospect of a warm, comfortable place to rest. Photos shared online show the felines climbing the ladder all the way tot he window, where the animal lover welcomes them in. It’s not clear if the woman leaves the window open at all times for the cats to take refuge into her home even when she’s not there, but it sounds like something she would do.

The cute cat ladder is just one of the ways Sebnem Ilhan has found to help stray animals. She also feeds them regularly and dedicates her time to making sure that they are well taken care of.

“I wish no animal is hungry or thirsty, just happy,” she said. “This world is not just for people.”

Photos: Sebnem Ilhan