On This Day in History: January 10

Hero cat saves a baby

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Plenty of hero dog stories, but what about hero cats? Some say if a house cat was as large as a big dog, no one would want them because they’d fucking murder you. Not Masha though. She used her body to keep an abandoned baby warm against the Russian winter cold.

--On This Day in History, Shit Went Down: January 10, 2015--

Not all cats are psychopaths. Science shows most are devoted to their humans. In 2021 in Australia a cat gave its life to protect two small children from a venomous snake. In 2014 CCTV video showed a small boy being rag-dolled to shit by a large vicious dog; the boy’s cat launched a nuclear strike against the dog, and it fled in terror like the feline Grim Reaper wanted its soul. In 2012 a cat roused a woman from a diabetic coma so she could call for help. And on January 10, 2015, Masha rescued a young infant.

It happened in the city of Obninsk, about 50 miles southwest of Moscow. Russia in January is not terribly hospitable. Just ask Napoleon. Or the fucking Nazis. Oh, wait. You can’t. Because most of them fucking froze to death. Anyway, Masha was a “stray” that was beloved by residents of an apartment building where she made her home. They fed Masha well; this was one fat fucking cat. Good thing too. The extra padding probably kept the baby alive.

Late that Saturday, building resident Nadezhda Makhovikova knew something was amiss. Masha was normally a quiet cat, but she sounded like she was being murdered. Nadezhda went to investigate and found Masha lying in a box in the entranceway to the building. The big fluffy cat was lying atop a crying baby to keep it warm and howling S O Fucking S.

The baby boy was dressed in warm clothes and had a pacifier, bottle, and spare diapers. But this was the Russian winter, and it was already late. The child would not have survived the night. So, yeah. Shitty thing to leave a baby out like that. I just googled “abandoned baby freeze to death” and there are plenty of horrific stories. Sometimes I hate my job.

But this story has a happy ending. Masha was a good girl, and she saved the day. An ambulance was called, and Masha tried to jump in the back to continue her vigil. Vera Ivanina, one of the attending paramedics, explained that Masha even chased them. “She was so worried about where we were taking the baby,” Vera said. “She ran right behind us, meowing.”

The boy was about two months old, clean and well fed, with no signs of abuse. Other than being abandoned in the fucking Russian winter, that is. The hospital asserted the little boy was in good health, suffering no ill effects from the cold thanks to Masha keeping him warm. The story made international news and there were many offers to adopt the young boy, as well as to adopt Masha. Masha was all fuck you I like my freedom.

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