Two RCMP members came to the rescue of an orange kitten who was stuck in the storm that swept through Saskatchewan Tuesday.
According to RCMP, while patrolling on Highway 39, Cpl. Sean Chiddenton and Cst. Ryan Oram came across a small orange kitten who was nearly frozen.
According to Chiddenton, he originally saw something on the road at the last second and swerved around it.
“I thought it was a chunk of ice that had fallen off a semi at first, but then thought it looked it an animal,” Chiddenton said in a Facebook post on the Saskatchewan RCMP page.
Chiddenton said Oram was unable to swerve and the cat went under the centre of Oram’s truck. Oram did not make contact with the kitten. Oram, like Chiddenton, thought the object was an animal and stopped.
“He backed up and the partially-frozen lump stood up and started walking towards him,” Chiddenson said.
Chiddenton said he and Oram guessed the male kitten was probably under a vehicle to get away from the harsh weather. When the vehicle drove away, Chiddenton said he was possibly still in the vehicle, then either jumped or fell on the highway.
“The wet blowing snow stuck to him right away. He wasn’t moving very much, but was meowing non-stop,” Chiddenton said.
Oram put the kitten in his truck and the two RCMP members drove him to the Prairie Animal Health Centre in Weyburn. Chiddenton said he later checked in on the kitten and “was happy to see the little guy was alive and alert and meowing away.”
Dr. Catherine Colodey, one of the veterinarians at Prairie Animal Health Centre who helped treat the kitten, said the animal came in around 9:30 a.m. in the morning wrapped up in a blanket and screaming in pain.
“He was pretty much frozen solid,” Colodey said.
“We actually couldn’t even get a body temperature to register for him until about 45 minutes of working to try and get his body temperature to increase. He was obviously very hypothermic and very frostbitten.”
The kitten, who has been dubbed Ambrose, was given warm water baths and warm canned meals. He was able to register a normal body temperature around noon with gradual warming in the baths.
“Then his attitude and personality started coming back and it was just very rewarding for us for sure and even more so for the kitten,” Colodey said.
“It was quite a process to warm him up but luckily not very many clients were making the trek to the vet clinic in the blizzard so we had time to dedicate to this little guy.”
Colodey said the tip of Ambrose’s tail may need to be amputated due to frostbite but otherwise should make a full recovery.
“He is just an absolutely healthy happy cat with a big voice might I say. He’s like a lion,” Colodey said.
Colodey said Ambrose is estimated to be between four and five months as he still has his baby teeth. However, he has two adult teeth that are starting to break through.
Ambrose has been adopted by one of the doctors at the clinic. Colodey said the doctor, who lives in Griffin, was trapped in Weyburn due to the storm.
Prairie Animal Centre also posted a picture on Facebook of Chiddenton stopping by Tuesday afternoon to see how the kitten was doing.
“He was very happy to find the kitten sitting with me at my desk, purring and meowing and eating and looking very much like a very healthy kitten,” Colodey said.
“So kind of a complete 180 from how he presented and certainly I think better than what the RCMP officers were expecting to see. Such a quick recovery to is always surprising sometimes but it makes for a very happy story in the end.”