Monday, January 19, 2015

Stray Cat Saves Abandoned Infant From Freezing to Death

by Sarah Zagorski | Moscow, Russia | LifeNews.com | 

 
In Russia, an abandoned infant was saved from freezing to death after a stray cat climbed into the box he was dumped in. The baby was left in below zero temperatures and would have died if it weren’t for a cat named Marsha.
Neighbors found Marsha curled around the freezing boy and licking his face after being alerted by his crying. A hospital spokesman told the Central European News, “The baby had only been outside for a few hours and thanks to Masha he was not damaged by the experience.”
One of the neighbors who found the baby, Nadezhda Makhovikova, said she went into the stairwell after hearing what sounded like a cat meowing in distress. She said, “When I went down, I saw it was the baby crying.”
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The New York Post shares more about the heroic cat:
She is very placid and friendly, so when I heard her meowing, I thought that perhaps she had injured herself,” said Obninsk city resident Irina Lavrova. “Normally she would have come and said hello to me. You can imagine my shock when I saw her lying in a box next to a baby.”
Masha is a communal cat who is looked after by local residents. When she found the baby — who appeared to be in great shape — she immediately took to him as if he were her own, according to CEN.
“Clearly her mothering instincts had taken over and she wanted to protect the child,” Lavrova explained. “He was well-dressed with a little hat, and whoever left him here had even left a few nappies and some baby food.”
The baby was immediately rushed to a local hospital, where he was given a checkup and declared fit and healthy, officials said. Since the child was found, Masha has been hailed as a hero by local residents — and she’s been reaping the benefits.
“Everyone in the block is very proud of her,” Lavrova said. “We have all spoiled her rotten by giving her her favorite food.”
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Currently, Russia has over 650,000 children who are registered orphans; and of these, 370,000 are in state-run care facilities while the others are either in foster care or have been adopted. Some of these orphans are considered “social orphans” because one or more of biological parents are still alive. Additionally, hundreds of infants are found abandoned the way this baby was, which is why pro-life rights activists are working to promote baby boxes across Europe.
As LifeNews previously reported, there are nearly 100 baby boxes in Poland, Germany and the Czech Republic while Italy, Lithuania, Russia and Slovakia have about 10 each. These boxes, also known as baby “hatches,” are known as a safe place a mother can place her baby if she feels she is unable to care for her child. Although abandoning a child is against the law across Europe, some countries have introduced amendments to protect mothers who use a baby hatch.
http://www.lifenews.com/2015/01/16/stray-cat-saves-abandoned-infant-from-freezing-to-death/

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