12-year-old cat survives 380-foot fall in Utah national park. ‘Little miracle'
As first responders recovered the bodies of two people who plunged 380 feet to their deaths in Utah's Bryce Canyon National Park, they discovered a cat carrier covered in mud nearby.
Inside was a 12-year-old cat, who appeared to have survived the nearly 400-foot fall, officials told McClatchy News over the phone Friday, May 2.
The soft-sided carrier was dirty and torn, and the cat herself was 'matted and a bit sore,' but both were ultimately intact despite the dramatic plunge.
'She is a little miracle,' Judah Battista told McClatchy News. Battista is the chief sanctuary officer at Best Friends Animal Sanctuary, which took the cat in for care.
A staff member from the sanctuary in Kanab drove about an hour north to pick up the cat and bring her to their clinic for a full examination, where staff discovered she's about 12 years old, 'so she's a senior kitty,' Battista said.
Her bloodwork was normal, especially for an animal that had experienced trauma, he said. X-Rays showed she had a couple fractured ribs and canine teeth, but the injuries don't require surgery.
'She's doing very well, drinking and eating on her own and primarily receiving love and care while she recuperates,' Battista said. 'She was definitely a bit overwhelmed by her experience, but she is remarkably sweet and is doing very well.'
A video shows staff examining the cat and discussing what she had been through.
'You are one lucky nugget,' someone says as they administer a syringe.
Staff have started calling her Mirage, because 'the idea that she survived is like you're seeing things — the unbelievableness of the circumstances,' Battista said.
The sanctuary is working with the Garfield County Sheriff's Office to reach out to relatives of the cat's previous owners to see whether they have interest or are capable of bringing her into their home. If not, the sanctuary will handle her care and find an adoptive home for her.
'While her survival is really a silver lining in the whole story, we don't want it to be lost that our hearts go out to their families,' Battista said. 'We're happy to be able to provide the care she needs while those other realities are true.'
Battista said he doesn't know how the cat survived the fall. He said he's never seen a case like this before.
'You can Google it and see that cats fall out of high rises and we have gotten cats in the past that were thrown out of a 3rd story window or were thrown from a car in a car accident, but absolutely nothing as dramatic as this and never where the animal was contained in a carrier,' he said. 'I don't know how it happened. It's definitely a miracle.'
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