This week in Russia, Masha, a homeless cat with a lovely temperament, saved the life of a baby she found in a cardboard box from sub-zero temperatures.
Apparently Masha must have heard the baby crying and immediately climbed into the box to cuddle the baby and keep him from the cold. It was a local resident, Irina Lavrova, who often feeds Masha, that discovered the cat and baby in the box together.
Irina said: “Masha is very placid and friendly cat, so when I heard her meowing I thought that perhaps she had injured herself. Imagine my shock when I saw her lying next to a baby. Clearly her mothering instincts had taken over and she wanted to protect the child.”
The baby boy, who was less then 12 weeks old, was rushed to hospital and thankfully was in good health. Masha did not want to leave her new found friend and even tried to get in the ambulance with him. Local residents said she waited on the street for several hours to see if the ambulance would return.
A spokesman for the hospital said “The baby had only been outside for a few hours and thanks to Masha he was not damaged by the experience.” A search is now underway to try and locate the child’s parents. He was discovered with clean clothes, extra nappies and some baby food.
Masha is now hailed by local residents as a hero and is being spoilt with extra food.
