This man has traveled 29 countries with his cat and is one country away from setting a world record

Dean Nicholson wanted to travel the world, solo on his bike. In June 2018, he left with that mission in mind, but three months and nine countries later, in September he found an irresistible companion to travel with him. Near the Bosnia-Montenegro border, Dean heard a little kitten meowing at him and he knew he had to take her with him. The cyclist named the tabby Nala. "Over the next coming days the kitten and I grew closer, It was clear she had lioness traits, with her feisty and loving personality and so it was Nala was to be her name," he writes on their website, 1bike1world.

Collecting photos from all 29 nations they've visited until now, the adorable couple now hopes to beat the global record for the most countries visited by one cat, which is currently set at 30. Dean and Nala have crossed so many milestones together. Their adventures are amazing, whether it's Dean flying a plane with little Nala behind him, or Dean and Nala sleeping in an igloo, the lovely tabby gets tucked in her human's cycle basket and is good to go almost anywhere.

TV host Lorraine, a long-time admirer of the traveling duo, spoke to Dean about his second book publication, reports DailyMail. The duo spoke at length about a new children's book they're publishing called "Nala's World." The children's book is a shortened version of the Sunday Times Bestseller, "Nala's World — the story of Dean and his traveling companion" which was written for adults.

Sharing the book announcement on Instagram, Dean explained why the book matters to him and Nala. "From the minute me and Nala found each other," he writes, "it was my dream to do a kids' book as I always felt our journey is a beautiful story to tell, but more importantly, it also has important lessons for children of an early age and beyond."

Dean wants the next generation who will continue to care for the planet to take something away from the book. "What better message to go within this book than to show the beautiful friendship me and Nala have and how stray animals deserve a chance," he wrote.

Dean shared with Lorraine how he didn't initially think Nala was homeless, but she swiftly got atop his shoulder and meowed to receive his complete attention. After a while, it was clear by her friendly nature and desperate hunger that her owner had intentionally dumped her. Dean said, "She loved being on the bike and in the fresh air all of the time, and now I'm just a full-time cat chauffeur!" At one point, Nala turned around on live TV and a bemused Lorraine exclaims, "Oh look, she’s showing us her bottom. I love when cats do that. They always do that, it’s brilliant.”

Lorraine also expressed that she too, along with other fans of the duo were extremely worried when the tabby fell sick recently, "We were very worried when we saw that she was ill, she's a young cat in the prime of her life." Dean confirmed that Nala is in good health now. "She's four," Dean said, "We took her to the emergency vets for treatment and she had a wee swollen paw - thankfully she is fine now."

After having traveled to about 29 countries, Dean and Nala are back home in Scotland with plans to get back on the road again soon. On October 2, Dean posted a beautiful picture of the feline on their Instagram celebrating her fourth birthday back home, with the caption, "4 years old today 🎁🥳 Happy birthday beautiful girl ❤️" 

He said to Lorraine, "There are parts that tell you what you can do to help animals in need, and it's something I've learned a lot about on this journey. People love Nala and they send her stuff all the time, which is great, but instead, they could make a donation to an animal shelter."