ILOILO City – A 16-year-old lass was “purring” all the love to her feline friends even in times of trouble.
Marriel Baydo from a coastal area in Zone 3, Barangay Boulevard, Molo district clawed through last month’s storm surge that ravaged their house – without leaving her five cats inside their cold, inundated shanty.
Aug. 8 is International Cat Day and it aims to raise awareness for cats and learn about ways to help and protect them.
On July 23 hundreds of houses in this city were confronted by flooding due to intense southwest monsoon (habagat) rains made worse by rising tides.
Baydo was trapped inside their house alone. Her mother and two siblings already evacuated to the barangay gymnasium.
Volunteer groups, including the Mountain Tiger and Unicorn Rescue Volunteer Brigade, and personnel of the Bureau of Fire Protection came to rescue her.
While the rescuers were setting up a ladder for her, Baydo told them to wait for a little more. She was holding a cat but needed to get ahold of four more.
“Nakulbaan ko ibilin sila kay basi madala. Nagasulod na ang balud sa balay,” Baydo told Panay News.
After gathering all her cats – three adults and two kittens – she put them inside her two knapsack bags and climbed up the window where the rescuers were waiting.
The rescuers assisted her and the cats, and they were safely evacuated.
Baydo said she was previously a dog lover but a friend gave her a cat. Her fondness to them grew until she adopted more.
“Nami sila ‘ya daan, malambing kag gatupad sa akon magtulog,” she said.
According to Baydo, she won’t hesitate to do the same thing again. She knew that cats have lives, too, that must be protected like those of human beings./PN
