Man Risks His Life To Save Drowning Kitten From Rising Floodwaters

Climate change has caused extreme weather across the country. But few places have been hit quite like California, which has seen everything from drought and wildfires to historic rains, writes blog.theanimalrescuesite.greatergood

A homeless kitten named Stormy was trapped when historic rainfall battered Sacramento, California. As the floodwaters rose, the frightened kitten was caught up in the current and swept to certain death, according to KCRA3 News.

Thankfully, a local couple noticed the kitten struggling to keep her head above water. “There’s a cat! It’s drowning!” Nancy Campbell cried out as her husband, Skip, saw the kitten struggling to keep her head above water.

The pair had come outside to document the flooding on their phones when they discovered the kitten struggling for life. The kitten’s head is barely visible in the floodwaters, but Nancy thankfully heard the kitten’s frantic cries for help.

But for a moment, it looked like Skip and Nancy were too late. Nancy watched with horror as the kitten’s head slipped below water.

Fortunately, Skip grew up in this area. Though the creek bed had swollen to dangerous levels, Skip knew where the land was flat. Without a second thought, Skip waded into the water downstream, hoping to catch the drowning kitten as she was swept past.

“I kinda know the terrain, and it’s not safe to go out in the water like that, but for me, I knew right where it was flat so it wasn’t as much of a risk,” Skip told the station.

As Nancy videoed on her phone, Skip waded downstream and deftly fished the kitten out of the water by the scruff of her neck. This incredible catch–which quickly went viral–saved the kitten’s life.

Back at their house, the couple helped the gray kitten recover from her ordeal. Once she was safe, dry, and fed, the Campbell’s – who already had a rescued cat, a dog, and two goats — began socializing the feral kitten to help her get adopted.

“It’s not trying to scratch or bite us at all — it’s just kind of timid trying to figure out. It’s never had a roof over its head before, so it’s just trying to figure out its surroundings,” Skip told KCRA3.

But despite their initial hesitation to adopt another pet, Skip and Nancy began to reconsider as the kitten, whom they named Stormy, began to come out of her shell. When Stormy began cuddling with them and purring, they realized their little rescue already found her forever home.

“Well, here’s an update: I think we are keeping Stormy,” Skip wrote in an email to the station. “Shocker I know. She snuggled with my older daughter Michelle last night for a few hours and it was over.”

Congratulations, Stormy! Skip and Nancy are heroes for saving this kitten’s life twice.

Find out more in the video:

Source: blog.theanimalrescuesite.greatergood.com