The story of Brian, the cat, is a reminder of what really matters in life: love for each other and our furry family members.
Right before the holidays, a fire struck a family home in Newark, New Jersey. In the smoke and flames, they had no time to save any of their belongings. They only had time to save one another and just one cat, Brian, a blind black and white kitty. Fortunately, someone managed to throw him from a window as flames singed his fur. He made it to the ground, soaked, freezing, and struggling to breathe, but alive when rescuers found him. Meanwhile, inside the home, some of the family, as well as a mother cat with kittens, had sadly perished.
“When help arrived, just about everything but Brian was gone. The house, the walls, the other animals…they were all gone. Brian himself was soaked, freezing, terrified, and having trouble breathing from all the smoke he inhaled, but miraculously, he was alive,” shared CUDDLY.
Rescuers from Halfway Home Animal Rescue Team find Brian the blind cat alive after a house fire in Newark. Images and media via Facebook/CUDDLY and Halfway Home Animal Rescue Team
They Saved What They Loved Most
‘How had Brian, a blind cat, managed to get away?’ The First Responders wondered. Then they learned someone had saved him in one last heroic act, not knowing if it would be their last.
“When we found out that he was also BLIND, we knew there was no way he could have made it out of the house on his own…In a fit of desperation to save a shred of what they loved most, they chucked Brian out a window from the home and crawled out after him just as the fire claimed everything else,” the story continued.
Rescuers Step in to Help the Family and Brian
After the fire consumed the home, the surviving family needed help for Brian. Surely, his recovery would mean everything to them. That’s when the Halfway Home Animal Rescue Team from Oakland stepped in to ensure he had the best chance to make it.
“Once at the hospital, doctors hooked him up and started him on oxygen to try and stabilize his breathing. He has some charred marks that will need attending to as well as other treatment, but no matter what happens, we are determined to keep him alive and give him the chance that his family wanted for him,” Cuddly explained.
The rescue explained how Brian came to have his name. They gave him the name after “a special family of cat lovers we are grateful to have as part of our team,” they wrote.
“Brian was thrown out of the home to save him, and as a result, is soaked, freezing, terrified, and is having trouble breathing, but he is ALIVE. We need your help to save this beautiful boy, as he is the only survivor, and he was meant to live,” they said.
Good News as Brian Recovers
In an update, the fundraiser page shared that Brian has pushed through after hours of oxygen. But his recovery will be a long road, and the cost has already topped over $5K.
“Thanks to the quick response of a very special rescuer and the excellent care of our friends at both Eclipse and Blue Pearl Paramus working together, Brian spent hours upon hours in oxygen and is now recovering. His breathing has stabilized and while he has a LONG way to go, we are very happy to tell you all that he is pushing through and responding very well to treatment thus far!” they shared.
You can see more and donate to help this cat and other animals on their Facebook post and the post on CUDDLY.
