He didn’t know if she was going to make it 💔
A few years ago, while construction manager Kyle Norton was at work, he heard an unusual sound — meowing — coming from a water drum. Concerned, he looked inside and found a tiny kitten struggling to stay afloat, her head barely above the water.
Panicking, Norton quickly tipped the barrel over and scooped her out, fearing it was too late. But when he grabbed the shivering kitten, she let out a terrified meow — a sign she still had some fight in her. He quickly wrapped her in a towel to dry her off and rushed her home.
Back at his house, Norton reviewed the footage from his workplace’s security cameras. It showed the kitten, who had been happily exploring, suddenly falling into the barrel and becoming submerged.
Once at home, Norton cleaned her up, gave her a warm bath, and fed her soft kitten food. “I wrapped her up, and I kept her warm and cozy,” he said. It didn’t take long for the kitten to recover from her near-drowning, and after a vet visit that confirmed her health, Norton had to make a decision: what should he do with her?
Before this, Norton hadn’t thought of himself as a cat person. He already had a St. Bernard named Winnie, and wasn’t sure how a tiny kitten would fit into their family. But to his surprise, Lilo, as he named her, quickly stole his heart. “I said, ‘Gosh, I can’t put the cat back outside. You know what, I think maybe we got a cat,’” he recalled.
Lilo, a polydactyl orange tabby, turned out to be even more special than Norton could have imagined. At first, she was timid around his large dog, Winnie, but within a week, she was pouncing on Winnie and even jumping on her nose, showing the 120-pound dog who was boss.
It’s been several years since Norton rescued Lilo, and today, she’s a healthy, happy adult cat who is an integral part of the family. “She fits in right as part of the family,” says Norton. Now, he can’t imagine life without her.