Family ‘watched in horror’ as Helene swept their cat away. Then son heard a meow
A family “watched in horror” as floodwaters from Hurricane Helene swept their cat away — then, more than a week later, the son heard a meow.
The faint noise led the Collins family to their beloved feline Ricardo Blanco, who survived the storm that devastated Western North Carolina, according to an animal organization.
“His family — who never gave up hope of being reunited — had returned to their property to assess the damage and discovered Ricardo Blanco had made his way back home,” Best Friends Animal Society wrote in an Oct. 17 news release.
The heartwarming reunion came after Hurricane Helene hit the North Carolina mountains in late September. The deadly storm left the region with wind damage and disastrous flooding.
“While preparing to leave their property in Burnsville, NC due to rising flood waters, Nan Collins and her family watched in horror as they spotted their cat, Ricardo Blanco, desperately trying to climb up the roof of their neighbor’s house as it floated downstream,” the animal society wrote.
A photo shared on YouTube shows Ricardo Blanco clinging to the roof, but his “grip failed, and he slid into the rushing water.” The family couldn’t reach their cat and feared the worst as spotty communications made it difficult to spread the word that he was missing.
Then, when the owners returned to their home eight days later, Collins’ son found the cat almost unrecognizable. The family took him to a free mobile veterinary clinic that Best Friends Animal Society had set up in the hurricane-battered region.
“Despite losing everything, the family wanted to make sure their kitty was OK,” the organization wrote in the caption of its YouTube video.
Ricardo Blanco — also known as Blanco — received treatment for an eye infection, ear infections and ticks. Then he was back in the care of Collins, who calls him a “survivor” and a “miracle cat.”
“His full name is Ricardo Blanco because he’s like a little movie actor, so playful and full of life,” Collins said in a post on the animal group’s website. “He’s like a little puppy dog, always wanting to be beside you and take a walk.”
Burnsville is a roughly 35-mile drive northeast from the mountain town of Asheville.
This story was originally published October 17, 2024 at 3:43 PM with the headline "Family ‘watched in horror’ as Helene swept their cat away. Then son heard a meow."
