Dog brings frozen cat to safety

HAYDEN - Here's a story that will warm your heart during these frozen temperatures.

Rondi Renaldo, executive director of the Kootenai Humane Society, said a dog brought a frozen kitty to safety Tuesday afternoon during the blizzard.

"The dog's owner said it was like his dog was trying to save the cat's life," said Renaldo, adding that it's unclear who owns the cat. "He said he thought that maybe the cat had been living under his house."

When the man brought the orange tabby, believed to be 9 months to a year old, to the humane society, it had a towel frozen to it with ice and it didn't appear the cat would survive.

"I was expecting to see blood on the cat from the dog biting it, but the dog had not bitten the cat at all," Renaldo said. "We couldn't pull the towel off the cat. It's a miracle it survived. It's a wonderful story. I was concerned that we'd have to put it down.

"I'm calling it Frosty."

Renaldo put the cat in luke-warm water, then rubbed it after the towel finally came off.

"The cat kept crying and the only way it would stop was to talk to it and rock it," Renaldo said. "I was afraid that if I moved it wrong, it would break its back."

Renaldo took the cat to the Prairie Animal Hospital in Hayden, where it was making a nice recovery on Wednesday and eating normally.

"The kitty had pretty severe hypothermia, was semi-comotose and had a low heart rate," said Veterinarian Elesa Anderson. "We gave it some warm IV fluids to warm it up. She's like a new kitty today."

Anderson said the clinic will spay and vaccinate the cat and find it a home if the owner does not come forward.

"It sure is a nice kitty," she said, adding that it doesn't have a chip indicating who its owner is.

Renaldo didn't know the name of the man who brought the cat to the humane society or what city he lives in.