A storm chaser in Mississippi has rescued a tiny kitten from the debris of a tornado-ravaged trailer park. Ashton Lemley heard the faint meow of the animal in the predawn darkness of Bogue Chitto, hours after at least three tornadoes tore through the southern part of the state.
Lemley, who has been chasing storms since 2010, navigated the rubble to locate the distressed kitten. After a few minutes, the meowing stopped, raising fears for its survival, but it resumed five minutes later. “I said, ‘Oh, he’s still alive!’” Lemley recounted to the Associated Press.
He dug through insulation from a collapsed wall until his flashlight beam revealed the kitten, wet and terrified, huddled between two wooden posts. Lemley captured the moment on video, saying, “Oh my goodness, I found him! Are you OK? Come here – it’s OK. … We’ll get you cleaned up, baby. Don’t you worry.”
Lemley held the kitten for a few minutes before handing it to the commander of the United Cajun Navy, a volunteer disaster-response group, who dried it off and took it to safety. Lemley noted the kitten appeared uninjured. “I don’t try to get overly emotional. But it is very heartbreaking to see any type of animal or human go through something like that,” he said.
Lemley says there is already interest from people wanting to adopt the kitten if its owners are not found, with some suggesting the name “Tornado.” However, Lemley will not be taking it home as he is allergic to cats. The tornadoes injured a dozen people at the trailer park and flattened most of the two dozen homes, according to the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency.
