Tue Aug 11, 2015, 02:25 PM
Liberal_in_LA (44,397 posts)
Lost For Days in California Wildfire, Cat Miraculously Survives (but not her whiskers)![]() ![]() Debi and Jeff Brusatori were racing to flee the flames threatening their Hayfork, California, home last week when they loaded up their car with their tabby cat Ruthie Rosemary in tow. But as they were driving away, Ruthie jumped out of the car. They couldn't go back thanks to the encroaching Fork Complex fire, which by early August had burned more than 24,000 acres in the Shasta-Trinity National Forest. When they returned to see what was left of their home five days later, they found little more than ashes and burned-out vehicles, which had been exposed to flames so hot and intense that their alumnium parts had melted. From behind a burned-out track, however, they "heard a familiar mew," the Forest Service reported -- it was Ruthie, who had somehow survived five days in the wilderness with only slight injuries to her whiskers and eyebrows. http://www.weather.com/news/news/cat-lost-california-fire-survives
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30 replies, 1728 views
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Author | Time | Post |
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Liberal_in_LA | Aug 2015 | OP |
Angry Dragon | Aug 2015 | #1 | |
Warpy | Aug 2015 | #2 | |
malaise | Aug 2015 | #24 | |
Warpy | Aug 2015 | #25 | |
KamaAina | Aug 2015 | #3 | |
benld74 | Aug 2015 | #4 | |
Auggie | Aug 2015 | #8 | |
murielm99 | Aug 2015 | #9 | |
hifiguy | Aug 2015 | #14 | |
Helen Borg | Aug 2015 | #6 | |
Skittles | Aug 2015 | #28 | |
romanic | Aug 2015 | #5 | |
Aerows | Aug 2015 | #7 | |
City Lights | Aug 2015 | #10 | |
SoapBox | Aug 2015 | #11 | |
narnian60 | Aug 2015 | #12 | |
wheniwasincongress | Aug 2015 | #13 | |
hifiguy | Aug 2015 | #15 | |
Auggie | Aug 2015 | #16 | |
hifiguy | Aug 2015 | #18 | |
Liberal Veteran | Aug 2015 | #19 | |
Cleita | Aug 2015 | #17 | |
niyad | Aug 2015 | #23 | |
SoCalDem | Aug 2015 | #29 | |
catrose | Aug 2015 | #20 | |
niyad | Aug 2015 | #21 | |
840high | Aug 2015 | #26 | |
Gigabear | Aug 2015 | #22 | |
magical thyme | Aug 2015 | #27 | |
Little Tich | Aug 2015 | #30 |
Response to Liberal_in_LA (Original post)
Tue Aug 11, 2015, 02:27 PM
Angry Dragon (36,693 posts)
1. good
Response to Liberal_in_LA (Original post)
Tue Aug 11, 2015, 02:31 PM
Warpy (99,490 posts)
2. Cats are amazing survivors
which is why that old saw about their having 9 lives exists. They routinely survive things that would kill us several times over, coming out to demand food and scritches, in that order.
If she hasn't suffered smoke inhalation, which can kill them, she'll be fine for many years. |
Response to Warpy (Reply #2)
Tue Aug 11, 2015, 06:30 PM
malaise (225,388 posts)
24. So true
We feed some feral cats and I am sometimes amazed at how well they survive.
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Response to malaise (Reply #24)
Tue Aug 11, 2015, 06:31 PM
Warpy (99,490 posts)
25. They make themselves soft and cuddly for us
but they're incredibly tough little buggers.
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Response to Liberal_in_LA (Original post)
Tue Aug 11, 2015, 02:52 PM
KamaAina (78,249 posts)
3. Will her whiskers grow back?
And now I'm thinking back to when a feral used to stop by our back door to get fed. Mom named her Rosemary, "'cause her fur was kind of wild and free...".
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Response to KamaAina (Reply #3)
Tue Aug 11, 2015, 03:09 PM
benld74 (9,153 posts)
4. They ill grow back,,,,
our oldest daughter when 5 decided our 1st two cats whickers were too long. She clipped them with scissors, rather short if I recall. I began to notice whiskers on the floor one day, checked the cats, and discovered her artistry.
They did grow back! This is the DU member formerly known as benld74.
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Response to benld74 (Reply #4)
Tue Aug 11, 2015, 04:18 PM
Auggie (26,398 posts)
8. I find whiskers all over the house ...
I've been assuming they're naturally shed and do indeed grow back.
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Response to Auggie (Reply #8)
Tue Aug 11, 2015, 04:26 PM
murielm99 (27,505 posts)
9. When our cat was alive,
I used to find whiskers and the outer shell of claws, too.
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Response to Auggie (Reply #8)
Tue Aug 11, 2015, 05:07 PM
hifiguy (33,688 posts)
14. Yep, they do.
Old whiskers get replaced by new ones. At least on every cat I've ever known.
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Response to KamaAina (Reply #3)
Tue Aug 11, 2015, 04:14 PM
Helen Borg (3,963 posts)
6. Curly whiskers!
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Response to KamaAina (Reply #3)
Wed Aug 12, 2015, 04:03 AM
Skittles (133,700 posts)
28. my cat was bit in the face by another cat
vet shaved the area and although he did not need to shave the whiskers, they all fell out on that side......they grew back in a couple of months
![]() hey that was a great name! ![]() |
Response to Liberal_in_LA (Original post)
Tue Aug 11, 2015, 03:17 PM
romanic (2,841 posts)
5. A miracle.
I know if my cat got lost in a wildfire or something similar I would have lost all hope. Glad the owners found and reunited with their loved one.
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Response to Liberal_in_LA (Original post)
Tue Aug 11, 2015, 04:18 PM
Aerows (39,961 posts)
7. Awww!
Glad the sweet baby survived!
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Response to Liberal_in_LA (Original post)
Tue Aug 11, 2015, 04:29 PM
City Lights (25,171 posts)
10. Amazing! So happy the cat survived.
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Response to Liberal_in_LA (Original post)
Tue Aug 11, 2015, 04:38 PM
SoapBox (18,791 posts)
11. Poor kitty!
Thank goodness she survived...she's going to need, actually deserves, all kinds of kitty loving.
A story with a great end. |
Response to Liberal_in_LA (Original post)
Tue Aug 11, 2015, 04:50 PM
narnian60 (3,495 posts)
12. Kennel, people, kennel!
Everyone that owns a cat should have a kennel. Hate it when someone comes into the vet carrying their cat in their arms. Now if they are bringing in an injured cat they found, that's different. Glad this story had a happy ending.
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Response to narnian60 (Reply #12)
Tue Aug 11, 2015, 04:59 PM
wheniwasincongress (1,307 posts)
13. Or a box
Cats get easily freaked out. Your car, cars driving by, new sights and sounds. They will jolt.
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Response to narnian60 (Reply #12)
Tue Aug 11, 2015, 05:10 PM
hifiguy (33,688 posts)
15. Kitteh carrier is a must.
Though trying to get the average cat to walk into one is an exercise in futility.
I found a way to introduce cat into container that worked well - place carrier on end with door open and facing up. Pick up cat and lower it into the carrier, hind legs first. Quickly shut door while cat is sitting on bottom (back, when upright) of carrier. Then ignore persistent and indignant meows while on way to vet for checkup. |
Response to hifiguy (Reply #15)
Tue Aug 11, 2015, 05:12 PM
Auggie (26,398 posts)
16. Our Tuxedo walks right into the carrier ...
I feel very fortunate.
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Response to Auggie (Reply #16)
Tue Aug 11, 2015, 05:19 PM
hifiguy (33,688 posts)
18. LOL. Max headed for the kitchen or the bedroom when the carrier came out.
Butch just gave me a look that said "you're kidding, right?"
![]() I miss them so much. |
Response to Auggie (Reply #16)
Tue Aug 11, 2015, 05:19 PM
Liberal Veteran (22,239 posts)
19. You should. The surest way to get my Nugget to run and hide is for me to get the carrier.
If I even touch the cat carrier, he freaks out.
But he's a sweetie anyway. He has no problem with me trimming his claws or brushing his teeth, but the cat carrier is a big "Oh Hell NO!" to him. |
Response to hifiguy (Reply #15)
Tue Aug 11, 2015, 05:15 PM
Cleita (75,480 posts)
17. I have one you can load from the top. You just drop them in, shove them down and zip it up.
It's like a large tote bag too, easier to carry around that the old bulky cage. But I do have one of those too, in case of evacuation, because that may end up being kitty's home for a few days if evacuation has to happen.
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Response to hifiguy (Reply #15)
Tue Aug 11, 2015, 06:04 PM
niyad (75,708 posts)
23. I always left one out with the door open, and a soft, cushy blanket inside. my kittehs
were frequently to be found in it, on it!
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Response to narnian60 (Reply #12)
Wed Aug 12, 2015, 04:11 AM
SoCalDem (103,856 posts)
29. Or a pillowcase in an emergency
Cats are very skittish..and the pillowcase can actually calm them down if they can hear your voice
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Response to Liberal_in_LA (Original post)
Tue Aug 11, 2015, 05:24 PM
catrose (3,734 posts)
20. Thanks for the happy story
Her whiskers look like my Smokey's when he tried to explore the Hanukkah candles.
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Response to Liberal_in_LA (Original post)
Tue Aug 11, 2015, 06:02 PM
niyad (75,708 posts)
21. damp eyes here!
Response to Liberal_in_LA (Original post)
Tue Aug 11, 2015, 06:04 PM
Gigabear (58 posts)
22. I wonder how many of her 9 lives she has left,
that poor cat is a survivor!
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Response to Liberal_in_LA (Original post)
Tue Aug 11, 2015, 07:45 PM
magical thyme (14,881 posts)
27. dam it's dusty in here...
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Response to Liberal_in_LA (Original post)
Wed Aug 12, 2015, 08:46 AM
Little Tich (6,171 posts)