A stray cat ended up saving a life from freezing to death in the city of Obninsk, Russia, by climbing into a cardboard box with a tiny baby under the stairs and keeping him warm. It seemed the child had been abandoned by his parents.
“The baby had only been outside for a few hours and thanks to Masha … he was not damaged by the experience,” a hospital spokesman told Central European News.
Masha, a beautiful, gray, long-haired tabby, was a regular at the gloomy old apartment block where the child was found, and, this cold night, she was lying in a cardboard box under the stairwell.
Madeschda Machikowa, 65, a retiree who lives in the building and is very fond of Masha, heard her cries and rushed to her aid, thinking she may be injured.
Imagine her shock when she saw the baby and realized the cries were not from Masha but from the abandoned infant.
Masha was curled around him, licking his face and keeping him warm but also providing valuable comfort to the distressed baby. A bag of clean diapers had been left along with the child.
Machikowa called an ambulance, and both she and Masha waited with the baby until help arrived.
The 2 or 3-month-old baby was rushed to hospital, where she was given a clean bill of health.
Masha followed the paramedics outside in the snow, clearly concerned about the baby she had helped rescue.
Vera Ivanina, a paramedic, told REN TV: “She was so worried about where we were taking the baby. She ran right behind us, meowing. She was really a rational creature.” Medical staff managed to convince Masha the baby was okay and she could stay behind.
Meanwhile, Masha has become a local celebrity, and the residents in the apartment block are making sure she is rewarded with lots of treats.
It would seem she now has found a home for life.
Let’s hope both the baby and Masha find permanent loving homes. That’s one lucky baby and one caring kitty!
Meanwhile, police are searching for the little boy’s parents.
Watch the video below to see the hero cat, Masha:
NTD
