Cat rescued in Lviv after being trapped under rubble of a house for 11 days
A Russian missile hit a four-storey residential building in the city of Lviv on 6 July, claiming the lives of four people.
On the 11th day after the tragedy, utility workers pulled out a living cat from the rubble, which managed to survive despite dehydration and exhaustion.
In a comment to Ukrainska Pravda.Zhyttia, the animal's owner Olha said that on 17 July, she was outside her house when her pet cat Churchill was taken out from under a brick.
The woman and her mother lived on the fourth floor. Olha says that on the night of 6 July, they woke up to the first explosion, and while they were trying to get up and hide, a second missile hit the house.
Olha's mother was killed in the missile attack.
"The apartment is essentially completely destroyed. All that's left is a frame: all the interior walls and ceiling have come down, and the attic has collapsed," the woman says.
Olha now lives in one of Lviv's modular towns.
"Both emergency rescue workers and builders have been on the rubble many times, but Churchill didn't make any sounds," adds the Lviv resident.
Veterinarians examined Churchill, and they called his case a "miracle"
She says the cat was under a brick and was discovered by a builder. When the man took the rescued animal outside, the neighbours started talking about the cat's owners – who’s cat it might be – and asked Olha, standing nearby.
Seeing her pet, she says, brought tears to her eyes.
Churchill has been living with Olha's family for the past 11 years after she had picked him up on the street.
"He loves to be held and petted; he’s great with touching. There was another cat, but he ran away. I saw him a few times near the house, but he was stressed after what happened and wouldn't come to me. That was my mum's cat; Churchill is more of mine," the woman adds.
Olha and Churchill now live in a modular house.
The owner says the cat has a good appetite despite the general exhaustion. According to the veterinarians, the cat's condition is fine, but it needs a well-balanced diet and vitamins.
Olha says that nowadays, the cat is in a carrier most of the time.
"I thought he might have escaped and might be somewhere in the neighbourhood. But the fact that he's been under the rubble of the apartment all these days... Little by little, the family is coming together," says Olha.
Background: On 6 July, a Russian missile hit a residential apartment building, killing 4 people and injuring 40. The missile damaged 50 vehicles and about 30 houses.
In a comment to Ukrainska Pravda.Zhyttia, a resident of the building, Ihor Ivanov, who lived on the ground floor, said that he woke up due to the first nighttime explosion. Following the second strike, the front door of his apartment was blown off.
Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron!
