NEW YORK, Dec. 19, 2005 (PRIMEZONE) -- The cat who captured the hearts of Americans with her story of survival and rescue, followed by poignant loss, arrived yesterday to her new loving home in Canada. "Miss Kitty" was trapped with her owner Bill Harris in their Slidell, Louisiana home for three days by floodwaters during Hurricane Katrina. Harris stood on a chair in five feet of water with his beloved cat in one arm and a two-way radio in the other, desperately calling for help. When rescuers arrived, Harris, suffering from chronic kidney failure, was forced to leave the cat behind. An MSNBC crew heard the story and went to Noah's Wish for help. The non-profit organization had arrived in Slidell 72 hours after the hurricane made landfall to rescue animals. After days of searching, a cat wearing a black collar and matching the description Harris provided was found.
Excited that this could be "Miss Kitty," Donna Wackerbauer, a Noah's Wish volunteer, drove the cat over 70 miles to Harris' hospital room. "I was holding 'Miss Kitty' in my arms when I walked into the room," said Wackerbauer. "When she saw her owner, 'Miss Kitty' jumped out of my arms, onto her owner and burrowed her head into him. She was saying, 'Yeah! I got my daddy back!'"
During the three-day ordeal, Harris said that "Miss Kitty" meowed to keep him awake whenever he began to drift in and out of consciousness.
"Miss Kitty" remained at the shelter, and Wackerbauer took the cat to visit Harris every week. Sadly, Mr. Harris passed away on November 23 and his only surviving relative, his mother, died just a few days later. "I promised Mr. Harris that I would take care of Miss Kitty," said Wackerbauer. "There was no question in my mind what I had to do -- Miss Kitty was coming home with me." In addition to adopting Miss Kitty, Wackerbauer brought home a three-legged dog and a kitten with a serious eye injury.
Yesterday, "Miss Kitty" and her new family made the long journey from Slidell to Kelonwa, British Columbia. "We are grateful to Northwest Airlines and especially Horizon Air, which granted us special permission to fly animals on one airplane," said Terri Crisp, Founder of Noah's Wish. "We thank everyone involved for helping to write a happy ending to this story."
Over 1,900 animals were rescued and sheltered by Noah's Wish in Slidell for eleven weeks following the destruction of Hurricane Katrina. Approximately 100 pets are in foster care and the organization continues to pay for boarding and veterinary care for many more.
Noah's Wish is a 501 c(3) not for profit organization that works exclusively to rescue and shelter animals in disasters. P.O. Box 997 Placerville, CA 95667 www.noahswish.org