4 days ago
Volunteers reunite lost pets and families months after Hurricane Helene
RALEIGH, NC (WNCN) — As Hurricane Helene tore through western North Carolina last fall, floodwaters swallowed homes, climbed rooftops, and forced desperate families to flee with only the essentials.
In the chaos, many had to make an impossible decision—leaving behind pets they loved as they escaped rising water.
But in the weeks that followed, a small, determined group stepped in to help.
Eric Phelps and his team at Sister Kitten Animal Rescue, a non-profit normally focused on trapping and caring for feral cats, quickly shifted their mission.
'Right after the storm hit, we were getting calls from people whose cats were missing,' Phelps said. 'We used the equipment and experience we already had to trap and recover animals that survived the flooding and try to get them back to their people.'
One of those rescues involved a family in Swannanoa who had climbed into their attic with their pets as the water rose to the roofline. They were rescued in time, but in the scramble, one terrified cat bolted and couldn't be retrieved.
Sister Kitten volunteers later found the cat, set food and water, and eventually trapped it safely, reuniting it with the family.
In nearby Old Beacon Village, a Buncombe County 911 operator stayed on the line helping others even as she feared her own cats, Perry and Dickie, were trapped inside her flooded home. When she returned days later, paw prints in the mud gave her hope.
'We worked in that neighborhood for two months trying to recover those cats,' Phelps said. 'And while we were there, we ended up finding several other neighbors' cats too—people who had no idea their pets had even survived.'
Since Hurricane Helene, Phelps estimates his team has reunited at least around 10 cats with their families and continues to care for a handful of others who remain unclaimed. They visit the area every single day, leaving food and water, tracking movement on game cameras, and trapping new arrivals to see if they belong to someone—or need veterinary care.
One of those cats is 'Roscoe', a well-known community cat who was eventually trapped, vaccinated, and released back into the neighborhood.
'He still comes by,' Phelps said. 'We see him on the cameras pretty regularly.'
So why does he keep doing it?
'If you don't come feed these cats, they're going to really struggle,' he said. 'There's no trash after a storm, no people generating food waste. They have nothing. We do it to keep them alive and to give people a chance to see their pets again.'
Anyone who would like to assist Sister Kitten Animal Rescue can visit their website at and click the 'Donate' button at the top of the page.
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