This is the viral moment a stubborn cat insists on trying to go the wrong way up an escalator before a kindhearted man carries it to the other side so it can ascend without further hitch.

The incident was filmed in the north-western Turkish city of Istanbul and the footage was shared on Twitter on 3rd January by the mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, 51, where it has gone viral with 2.1 million views.

The clip was also posted on TikTok with the theme to ‘Mission Impossible’ on 31st December by ‘Ducksnaily’ where it has been watched 7.7 million times.

Imamoglu, a centre-left politician serving as the 32nd Mayor of Istanbul, accompanied the clip with the message: “Istanbul is also the cat capital of the world. There is an emotional bond between Istanbulites and cats!”

In the footage, the cute moggy is seen trying to go the wrong way up the escalator, but remains fixed to the spot as if using a treadmill.

After a while, the cat realises it needs to exert some more effort if it is to ascend the escalator and runs up a number of steps before apparently growing tired and stopping.

The feline rides the escalator back to the bottom where it tries again to walk up the steps.

However, a kindhearted man sees the struggling cat and picks it up before moving over to the other side of the escalator and placing it on the first step.

The cat then goes up the escalator the right way and it peers back at the man as if to say ‘thank you’.