East Haddam firefighters are helping take care of a kitten they helped save from a house fire. Now, the kitten has been reunited with its mother and sibling who were thought to be lost in that fire.
“It’s certainly a great thing that all three of them can be together as these two little ones grow and thrive,” Melanie Kolek, with the East Haddam Fire Department, said.
This cat family is together once again. East Haddam firefighters are thrilled to see kittens Soot and Ash together with their mother Ember.
They were reunited after a house fire on North Moodus Road last week.
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“It was like clicking two magnets together. They went right for each other, and Soot immediately stopped crying,” Eric Walker, an East Haddam firefighter said.
The chaotic scene that day had firefighters battling flames and helping the animals inside including Soot who was rushed to the vet.
“It was like a fine dance, and I can’t say enough about what I witnessed from our department personally,” Kolek said.
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Soot was able to be nursed back to health and released Saturday with firefighters taking care of him. They thought he was orphaned.
“One cat had succumbed to smoke inhalation right beside the boxed kittens, so everyone assumed it was the mother cat,” Walker said.
On Sunday, the original owners of Soot contacted firefighters and found out the mother cat and sibling were also taken out of the house. They gave them to Walker and firefighter Michelle Forbes who were already taking care of Soot.
“It’s better for the kittens, too, to grow up with their mother so it’s a better situation for everyone,” Forbes said.
Forbes and Walker will help foster the cats as the original owners are unable to take care of them as they rebuild. The goal is to put the cats up for adoption when the kittens grow up.
“There’s a waiting list for those who wish to adopt when the little guys are all set and ready to be away from mama,” Kolek said.
Firefighters say the cat family reinforces their sense of duty as volunteers and hopes it encourages others to consider it.
“It renews our faith in volunteerism it renews why we do what we do outside of our regular jobs,” Kolek said.
