A long-haired cat named Masha is basking in the glory of her reputation as a neighborhood hero in the Russian city of Obninsk, after she rescued an abandoned baby from sub-zero temperatures.
Nadezhda Makhovikova, who lives in the apartment block in Obninsk where the baby was found, told REN TV she went into the stairwell for a look around after hearing what sounded like a cat meowing in distress.
There she found Masha, a community cat who she and other residents have fed and befriended for 3 years, and who lives in the building, curled up in a box with the baby and meowing for attention. The baby had been left in the box.
“She had been keeping the baby warm for several hours and meowing to call for help,” she told Ruptly video agency. Ms. Makhovikova also said Masha does not ordinarily meow a lot.
“When I went down, I saw it was the baby crying,” she said.
Marsha ran after paramedics as they took the baby to the ambulance.
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.”
“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.
The baby boy is between two to three months old and was found to be in good health when he was checked by medics at the hospital. He was left in the box wearing clean clothes and with a pack if diapers. Authorities are looking for his parents and he is being cared for at the hospital.
Marsha is getting extra cuddles and food in a show of thanks by residents at her building.
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