During a record-setting storm in California, a quick-thinking couple rescued a tiny, helpless kitten from the rising waters of a flash flood.
Skip and Nancy Campbell spotted the kitten when they went to check on rising water levels of Chicken Ranch Slough, a stream in Sacramento County that runs behind their home.
Nancy had been recording a video of the racing floodwaters when she heard tiny sounds of distress coming from the river and spotted the kitten struggling to stay afloat.
“There’s a cat! It’s drowning!” Nancy screamed to Skip in the video.
Skip then races into the waist-high water, reaches out and grabs the kitten by the scruff of his neck.
“I barely saw [her], [she] was underwater,” Nancy can be heard saying in the background. “[She] kept, like, trying to fight to get up.”
The couple took the kitten to their home to warm her up and decide what to do next. The area around the slough is home to many feral cats and the little kitten, whom they have named Stormy, appeared to be one.
She was initially “wild” and “skittish,” but after a short time, seemed to settle down, the Campbells said.
“[She’s] not trying to scratch or bite us at all — just kind of timid,” Skip said. “[She’s] never had a roof over [her] head before, so [she’s] just trying to figure out [her] surroundings.”
Within a day, Stormy was resting comfortably on Nancy’s lap. When little Stormy snuggled with the couple’s older daughter as well, they decided to officially adopt her.
Stormy now shares a home with the Campbells’ other rescue cat, a dog, two goats, and members of their family.
