.
WHIO Storm Center 7 Meteorologist Rich Wirdzek was out in the field surveying the damage from a tornado that hit the Cedarville, Ohio area on Wednesday, May 14 when he heard a kitten’s meows,. He found the kitten and rescued it from the debris. The kitten was then wrapped in a jacket and placed in a News Center 7 truck, to keep it safe and warm.
The little survivor lived through the tornado that destroyed two homes and a barn owned by the Dobbins family, who said the kitten was recently born in the barn. The kitten was reunited with the Dobbins family.
We shared news and video of the rescue in our post of May 15, Meteorologist Finds Kitten in Ohio Tornado Debris.
WHIO updated the story on Friday May 23, letting us know that Twister, as the kitten has been named, is doing well and is no longer living the life of a barn cat. Twister is being cared for inside and is being socialized with both people and a very special pet. A Papillon dog has taken a special interest in Twister and is helping to care for the kitten.
Twister’s two siblings were found after his rescue but ultimately did not survive. The Dobbins family think Mama kitty also did not survive, but she has not been seen or found so her fate is not really known.
Despite the kitten’s calico appearance, which suggests a female cat, WHIO News says the kitten is a male.
.
Here is a short video with Twister:
.
Twister is also featured here, in a video report on how the family is coping with the loss of their farm and home. Twister is seen with the little Papillon dog who is helping to care for him. The report says that Twister’s two siblings were also found, but the family couldn’t care for them in their weakened state and took them to the vet. It seems the siblings were not able to survive.
.
.
Here, for comparison, is the raw footage of the wet, shaking, crying kitten when Rich Wirdzek found him in the tornado debris:
.
.
