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Two Cape May County NJ cats are being described as true survivors as they recover from a disastrous explosion at their home at a local vet hospital treating them free of charge.
Jim and Evelyn McCarty were critically injured when their home exploded on November 7, and they remain in a Philadelphia rehab facility as they continue to recover nearly a month later.
The couple’s two cats Dusty and Daisy were missing and feared dead following the disaster, but they miraculously survived.
Dusty was pulled from the rubble of her home, with burns on her head and feet. She was taken to the Ocean View Veterinary Hospital, where she continues to receive care.
Hospital staff remark on Dusty’s good natured and friendly disposition. “She was still purring, the first night. She’s a very happy girl,” hospital manager Joan Ulrich told an NBC Channel40 news crew. “She’s gonna be fine, all her hair’s growing back already, her whiskers are growing back, she’s really doing well.”
Staff say Dusty is a great cat who has made it easy for her caregivers to help her. She sits through daily saline baths to aid in her recovery.
The McCartys’ other cat, Daisy was spotted running loose in the area near her home following the explosion, and neighbors put food out for her until she could be caught. Last weekend, with the help of neighbors and the couple’s daughters, animal control caught Daisy and brought her to Ocean View Veterinary Hospital to be with her companion.
Daisy somehow escaped the explosion relatively unscathed, except for some singeing. Vet staffers say she is doing great and is a very talkative girl.
The veterinary hospital is providing care and boarding for the cats totally free of charge and says the cats can stay as long as necessary as their owners recover from their very serious injuries.
“The doctor would never charge them for anything,” Ulrich said. “As soon as he heard about the case, he said we’re the ones open down here 24-hours, so if we can get the cats here, whatever they need, as long as they need to stay with us, they’ll stay.”
Dusty and Daisy’s grateful owners are in regular contact with the vet staff. “They call everyday, they text everyday,” said Ulrich, who says they also send pictures of the kitties, “they want to know how the cats are doing.”
Watch the cats’ story:
