The news media is full of bad news, tragedy, and misery, so I was happy to come across this tidbit of news, and happy to blog about it, too.
According to several news services, residents of a certain apartment complex in Obninsk, Russia had more or less adopted a homeless cat, letting it reside in a box in the apartment's breezeway. For months people fed the cat and gave it the occasional pat. But a couple of days ago the residents noticed that "Masha" was behaving differently. She was meowing a great deal more than usual and would not leave the box when her human "friends" came to feed her. A few hours later the cat had still not come out of its box and continued to meow with great fervor. Finally one of the residents came to see if the cat was sick or injured. Imagine the lady's surprise when she heard a baby's cry coming from inside the cat's "house."
The woman looked inside the box and found Masha closely cuddled against an infant, keeping it warm against the freezing weather outside. After calling other neighbors, the woman took the infant out of the box. She and the other neighbors wrapped the child in blankets and called an ambulance. After appropriate medical attention, the child was found to be healthy, and in fact had been well cared for in the weeks prior to its abandonment. But doctors and the neighbors believe that Masha had saved the child's life by serving as its living blanket, AND by meowing in such a way that the residents of the apartment suspected Masha was in distress.
The child is now a ward of the state and will hopefully be adopted soon. As for Masha, she is certainly the queen cat now. She is a local hero and has received gifts of cat food and treats from all around the area. More importantly, the residents of the apartment complex are taking extra special care of Masha. She is no longer a stray, but has a permanent home in the apartments now.
I know this is not usually what I blog about, but I thought that for one thing there was enough bad news that I did not need to add any on these pages, and two, Masha is a true hero and her story should be spread. Who can say if she was aware that she was saving the child's life? Did she know the infant needed warmth and cuddling? I like to think Masha knew she was caring for this child, and that this is one of those fascinating stories of animals with almost human intuition. Masha, thank you for being a such a heroic feline.
According to several news services, residents of a certain apartment complex in Obninsk, Russia had more or less adopted a homeless cat, letting it reside in a box in the apartment's breezeway. For months people fed the cat and gave it the occasional pat. But a couple of days ago the residents noticed that "Masha" was behaving differently. She was meowing a great deal more than usual and would not leave the box when her human "friends" came to feed her. A few hours later the cat had still not come out of its box and continued to meow with great fervor. Finally one of the residents came to see if the cat was sick or injured. Imagine the lady's surprise when she heard a baby's cry coming from inside the cat's "house."
The woman looked inside the box and found Masha closely cuddled against an infant, keeping it warm against the freezing weather outside. After calling other neighbors, the woman took the infant out of the box. She and the other neighbors wrapped the child in blankets and called an ambulance. After appropriate medical attention, the child was found to be healthy, and in fact had been well cared for in the weeks prior to its abandonment. But doctors and the neighbors believe that Masha had saved the child's life by serving as its living blanket, AND by meowing in such a way that the residents of the apartment suspected Masha was in distress.
The child is now a ward of the state and will hopefully be adopted soon. As for Masha, she is certainly the queen cat now. She is a local hero and has received gifts of cat food and treats from all around the area. More importantly, the residents of the apartment complex are taking extra special care of Masha. She is no longer a stray, but has a permanent home in the apartments now.
I know this is not usually what I blog about, but I thought that for one thing there was enough bad news that I did not need to add any on these pages, and two, Masha is a true hero and her story should be spread. Who can say if she was aware that she was saving the child's life? Did she know the infant needed warmth and cuddling? I like to think Masha knew she was caring for this child, and that this is one of those fascinating stories of animals with almost human intuition. Masha, thank you for being a such a heroic feline.
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