If cats have nine lives, one tabby in the US has definitely used one up. The house cat survived being locked in a cage, thrown off a bridge and then stranded in an icy puddle of river slush.
The ordeal ended when a pair of passers-by spotted the calico cat while crossing a footbridge in Missoula, Montana, and called for help.
Missoula firefighters arrived minutes later, donned wet suits and launched a rescue boat.
Someone had put the animal in a cage, along with a rock weighing about 16 pounds, and tossed it into the Clark Fork River. But instead of landing in the water, it bounced several times on the ice and then became stuck. It’s unclear how long the cat had been there.
Firefighters took it back to the fire station, dried it off and fed it leftover Christmas turkey and a dish of milk.
Firefighter Josh Macrow decided to keep the cat. After his shift, he took it to a vet and then home to his 12-year-old daughter. Naming the animal was easy, he said. “We call her Lucky.”