Man Heroically Weathers Hurricane Ian Floodwaters To Save Stranded Cat

Video shows Mike Ross of Bonita Springs, Florida, saving the “terrified” feline right before the “absolutely terrible” storm made landfall.
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A man’s compassion for a stranded cat has left many on Twitter feline good.

Mike Ross, 29, of Bonita Springs challenged the Florida Man stereotype on Wednesday when he bravely weathered quickly rising Hurricane Ian floodwaters to rescue a “terrified” looking cat.

“The storm surge had rushed up quite a bit at that point,” Ross told The Washington Post of the moment he decided to rescue an orange and white cat that was seeking refuge from the flood atop a mounted air conditioning unit. Ross said that although he had grown up in Florida and seen his fair share of chaotic weather, he told the paper this particular storm was “absolutely terrible.”

Ross’ mom, Marybeth Ross, captured the rescue on camera. It occurred right before the Category 4 storm, with maximum sustained winds near 150 mph, made landfall.

Ross’ girlfriend, Megan Scavo, later shared the video of him wading through murky knee-high water to gently retrieve the frightened animal and bring it inside to safety.

“My boyfriend saving a cat from flood waters near Bonita Beach,” she captioned the video. Twitter users responded to the clip by essentially saying Ross was the cat’s pajamas.

Others remembered doing similar rescues themselves.

Ross told the Post that that cat is staying with his family and they plan to keep it if they’re unable to find an owner.

Scavo posted an update to Twitter telling users that they are currently calling their “miracle cat” Ian. She also linked to a GoFundMe page to raise money to restore their home and others’ houses that were damaged in the storm. She said half of the proceeds would go toward the Humane Society Naples in honor of Ian the kitty to help other animals impacted by the crisis.

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