After flash flooding in Beaver County, Utah, three kittens were found alive in storm debris on a local property, and nearby residents helped save them.
Here's what to know
Following flooding in Beaver County, debris was swept onto many residential properties, and the kittens were discovered at one of them, as ABC4 reported.
Renee Rubinger, who assisted with the rescue, said someone handed the animals to her in a box over a fence after finding them among the debris.
"They were literally little balls of clumped mud and ash," Rubinger said.
When she first saw them, Rubinger said the kittens were "scared and probably really hungry, and they were definitely alive and crying."
Because stores in the area were closed, Rubinger said she had no kitten formula and turned to social media to ask for help.
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"I have no bottles, I have no formula, I have no idea how to save these babies," she said in her plea.
The story took a hopeful turn after Rubinger found someone with a nursing mother cat who could take the kittens in once the debris had been cleaned from their fur.
More background
Flooding can put pets, stray animals, and wildlife in immediate danger, especially when fast-moving water tears through homes, yards, and outbuildings with little warning. In this case, the kittens survived being swept along in the debris field — something Rubinger suggested could easily have gone unnoticed.
Rubinger said the woman who found the kittens also said floodwaters had risen all the way to her father's windows and that his dog drowned in the flooding.
Rubinger said she often volunteers at the area's animal shelter, as ABC4 reported.
What can be done?
"I want to warn people when debris flows into their yard to look through things carefully because it could easily be animals that got swept away," Rubinger said.
In this case, the community response made all the difference. One resident spotted the kittens, Rubinger stepped in, and another household with a nursing cat provided the care the animals needed to survive.
For Rubinger, the outcome still feels extraordinary: "It's an absolute miracle that they saw these kittens and were able to scoop them up and save them at all."
Where can I learn more?
Floods and other disasters can leave animals trapped, displaced, or entirely dependent on whoever notices them in time.
• In Tennessee, floodwaters swept through shelter buildings, leaving a cat rescue scrambling for help.
• In Mississippi, a storm chaser heard faint meows in tornado rubble and found a trapped kitten.
• In Hampton, Virginia, children heard cries from a drain pipe, and firefighters worked to lure a kitten free.
Severe weather turns animals into easy-to-miss casualties far more often than many people realize. That's why checking debris, sheltering displaced pets, and responding quickly can save lives.
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