16-year-old cat survives Tennessee tornado while owner out of town

MADISON, Tenn. — An aging cat managed to survive last weekend’s devastating tornadoes in Tennessee, and the feline is back with its owner, who was out of town when the destructive storms hit the area.

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Sandy, a 16-year-old cat, was found curled up in some bedding in Madison, where a tornado killed three people, WKRN-TV reported.

Erica Williams, of Nashville, who works as a volunteer for Hands On Nashville, was scrolling on Facebook when she noticed a friend’s video and thought she saw an animal in the debris, according to the television station.

“There were a couple still shots, and I was looking through them and I saw what looked to be a cat in the rubble, so I zoomed in on it and I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, that is a little kitty cat!’” Williams told WKRN.

Williams quickly sent a message to her friend, Ricky Sessum, who had filmed the video but did not see the cat. Sessum found the cat, who was alive, but frightened and “barely breathing,” according to the television station.

“I just dropped everything I was doing and went out to Madison,” Williams said. “(Sessum) sent me the location, and I picked up the cat.”

Williams took the feline to Livewell Animal Urgent Care, WKRN reported.

Williams was able to contact the cat’s owner, Abi Wells, who said she was in Pigeon Forge and initially unaware that her home had been leveled, according to the television station.

“This is my cat!!! He doesn’t have a chip or anything, I can give you my dad’s phone number if that works!” Wells wrote in response to the video Sessum posted after finding the feline. “I’m in Pigeon Forge right now.”

Williams said she was glad to help, and grateful she noticed the cat in the rubble of the home.

“I’m just meant to help. People, animals, anything,” Williams told WKRN. “I’m always wanting to help in some way. Just seeing it curled up ... It was just curled in this little ball on this blanket just waiting for its family to come home, and I’m just like, ‘It just needs love and care.’

“I didn’t even know if its family is alive. I had a lot of crying yesterday. I just love animals-- especially cats.”