Homeless cat praised for saving abandoned baby

A baby boy no older than 12 weeks has been found in a box on a staircase in an apartment block in the Russian town of Obninsk. The box was meant for a cat, who then warmed up the baby. The baby in the cat box was discovered by one of the neighbors, who had heard what she thought to be loud meowing and rushed to rescue the cat from possible offenders. The feline has been living in the apartment block for three years, fed and petted by its residents.

The day she found an unexpected guest in her box was a freezing one, but the baby was very warm, according to the woman, who first discovered the abandoned boy. "She has been keeping the baby warm for several hours and meowing to call for help," she said. The woman, who turned to be a nurse, said she also found a bag with baby food and nappies. The boy was well and tidily dressed, she added. But it was the baby's new furry carer who was worried about the boy even after police and medics arrived.
She kept close to the baby and didn't want to let it go, the woman said. "When an ambulance worker took the baby to bring him into the car, the cat followed him and pitifully meowed," she said, adding that the four-pawed adoptive mother tried to jump into the ambulance to follow the boy. The cat then sat for hours on the road by the house waiting for the car to return and bring him back, neighbors said. The baby boy was taken to a hospital in Obninsk, some 60 miles from the Russian capital.

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Doctors said the boy, who might be from six to 12 weeks old, is completely healthy and feeling well. "We have received a lot of feedback from sympathizing residents, who are willing to help and ask if any food, toys and other things are needed," a pediatric nurse said. The police are now trying to identify the baby and are searching for his parents, while the cat, who looks to be expecting herself, is receiving extra care and treated like a hero by the residents.