A mother’s instinct led her to run into a burning barn to save her babies this summer. But that mother was a cat.
After a barn caught fire in Edmonton, Canada, mid-July, a semi-feral female cat bravely entered the blaze, where their food was kept, to rescue her kittens.
The cat suffered severe burns on her paws, tummy, face, and fur. Miraculously, she made it out alive.
Sadly, only one of her four kittens survived.
The pair were brought to no-kill cat rescue Furget Me Not. And although they were brimming over capacity with unwanted animals, they made an exception for the mama—who the shelter says has been “suffering unimaginably”—and her kitten.
As the mom was in need of medical care, she was separated from her baby, though her kitten was kept in close proximity should she go looking.
The rescue hailed the brave mama for her heroism.
“Mommy is semi-feral, so rescue mommy sure has her work cut out for her, but kitties like this are exactly why we do the work we do.”
Although the shelter has seen a dramatic uptick in adoptions during the pandemic, there have been even more pet owners surrendering their animals, for the cost of keeping them has been too high, the shelter told the news outlet.
Meanwhile, they’ve seen people who didn’t have their animals fixed because subsidized spay/neuter programs weren’t up and running.
Theirs and other shelters are full, and they’re searching for potential pet owners to come forward.
Christine added: “If you’re thinking about fostering for a rescue, now’s the time, if you’re thinking about adopting a pet, we know that it’s exciting, things are reopening and we can travel again, but the rescues really are full, and these animals keep coming in.”
