Monday, April 28, 2025
60.0°F

Dog brings frozen cat to safety

Brian Walker | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 14 years, 5 months AGO
by Brian Walker
| November 26, 2010 8:00 PM

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.

MORE IMPORTED STORIES

One down ... eight to go
Coeur d'Alene Press | Updated 14 years, 2 months ago
Genesis Prep first-graders pitch in to care for shelter animals
Coeur d'Alene Press | Updated 4 years, 10 months ago
A superhero for the kitties
Coeur d'Alene Press | Updated 5 years, 6 months ago

ARTICLES BY BRIAN WALKER

Two arrests made in heroin trafficking case
November 27, 2018 5:56 p.m.

Two arrests made in heroin trafficking case

POST FALLS — Two Shoshone County men were arrested in a heroin trafficking case during a traffic stop on Interstate 90 at Post Falls last week.

Ingraham charged with first-degree murder
January 15, 2016 2 a.m.

Ingraham charged with first-degree murder

The 20-year-old nephew of a Post Falls man found dead in Boundary County in September has been charged with first-degree murder of his uncle.

January 20, 2013 6 a.m.

Is arming teachers a good idea or over-reaction?

No movement in region to go that route to enhance school safety

While the idea of arming teachers, as a means to increase school safety, is catching on in some areas, there’s no such momentum in Kootenai County.