It’s hard not to anthropomorphise cats. They’re certainly capable of learning many of our human habits, and frequently display characteristics which are strikingly similar to our own. But although we may endow them with human like qualities, they constantly remind us that they still belong to a world from which we humans have become increasingly detached.

Theirs is still the ancient world of instinct, and where us pampered humans may falter and fail, even the most domesticated cats are capable of reverting to their primitive selves, and coping with situations which would finish most of us off.

Striking examples of this have come to light in the aftermath of last month’s devastating earthquake. Just over two weeks after the earthquake came news of a cat which had been found alive beneath the rubble of its owner’s house.

https://youtu.be/He1Y3fLyUsQ?list=PL91A1C1F36227D6F1

Sedici giorni sotto le macerie

Sedici giorni sepolto da detriti e calcinacci. Sedici giorni vissuti in condizioni incompatibili con la vita, senza cibo, con pochissima aria, con qualche goccia di acqua piovana. Eppure, nonostante tutto questo, il gatto Pietro è sopravvissuto.
A trovarlo e soccorrerlo – questa mattina – sono stati i Vigili del Fuoco che hanno sentito i flebili miagolii di Pietro proprio mentre stavano cercando di recuperare dalla casa alcuni effetti personali dei proprietari del gatto. I quali, tanto increduli quanto commossi, hanno assistito al salvataggio del loro compagno di vita, dato ormai per morto.

Sixteen days buried beneath debris and rubble. Sixteen days living in conditions incompatible with life, without food, with little air, with a few drops of rainwater. And yet, despite all this, Pietro the cat survived.
The Fire brigade found and rescued Pietro this morning after hearing his weak meowing whilst they were trying to recover some of the cat’s owners personal effects from their house. The owners, both incredulous and emotional, watched the rescue of their life companion, whom they had already given up for dead.

… and then, more than two weeks later …

Trentadue giorni sotto le macerie

Rocco the cat survived for 32 days trapped in the ruins of his owner’s house!

Disidratato ma tutto sommato in buone condizioni: così i vigili del fuoco hanno trovato un gatto rimasto per ben 32 giorni sotto le macerie di un’abitazione crollata in una frazione di Amatrice in seguito al terremoto del 24 agosto.
Rocco, questo il nome del gatto, era rimasto seppellito tra le pietre di una casa parzialmente crollata a Rio San Lorenzo e dal giorno del terremoto di lui non c’era più alcuna traccia.
Domenica, i vigili del fuoco sono tornati in paese, per effettuare un’ispezione allo scopo di procedere all’abbattimento di alcuni muri pericolanti della casa: nel corso del sopralluogo e dei lavori preparatori, hanno individuato il gatto bloccato all’interno dell’edificio. Una volta recuperato, Rocco è stato riconsegnato agli increduli proprietari.

Dehydrated but, all things considered, in good condition: that’s how the Fire brigade found a cat that had been trapped for 32 days beneath the rubble of a habitation which had collapsed in a suburb of Amatrice following the earthquake on the 24^th of August.
Rocco, that’s the cat’s name, had been buried amongst the stones of a partially collapsed house at Rio San Lorenzo, and since the day of the earthquake no trace of him had been found.
On Sunday (25^th of September) the Fire Brigade came back to the village to carry out an inspection with the aim of proceeding to knock down some of the dangerous walls of the house: during the survey and the preparatory work, they identified the cat trapped inside the building. Once he had been recovered, Rocco was given back to his unbelieving owners.

And there we were, worrying about our Mr. Black when he disappeared for a week!