On a cold suburban street outside Pittsburgh, a tiny black-and-white cat summoned the last of her strength to drag herself up an icy driveway. Starved, sick, and barely clinging to life, she collapsed in the snow — slowly beginning to freeze to the ground.
Carly Toth, cat coordinator at the animal rescue Pet Friends, was nearby assisting a feral cat colony when her phone rang with an urgent plea.
“A good friend of mine was trying to bring in a newly discovered colony before the weather got worse,” Toth told The Dodo. “I had just pulled away when she called me and said, ‘There’s a frozen cat in McKeesport. Can you find somewhere to take it?’”
In all her 10 years of rescue work, Toth had never encountered a cat in such a frozen state. She rushed to help, hoping it wasn’t too late.
At the vet clinic, a team was already on standby. Wrapped in a blanket, the little cat was placed into the arms of Lizzie B., a veterinary technician, who hurried her to the exam room. When they detected a faint heartbeat, the team sprang into action.
“She was as cold as she could possibly get,” Toth said. “It took three hours before her temperature even registered on the thermometer.”
With heating pads, warm towels, and gentle care, the tiny fighter slowly came back to life. As she woke, she immediately began kneading the blankets — a sign of her resilient spirit.
“The first thing she did when she opened her eyes was make biscuits,” Lizzie B. said. “She’s so resilient. The way she looks at you — it’s like she’s saying thank you.”
The cat wasn’t spayed or vaccinated, but she did have a microchip. When the vet called the registered owner, they chose to surrender her rather than reclaim her.
It turned out the cat had been living outside for over a month, lingering near her former home. The injuries to her back legs showed she had been fighting for survival far longer than anyone knew.
After four hours of intensive care, Toth took the brave little cat home for the night — and she made it through. The next day, Toth gave her a new name: Birthday — a celebration of her new beginning.
Despite her exhaustion and injuries, Birthday couldn’t stop purring whenever someone showed her affection.
“She’s sweet as pie,” Toth said. “Just friendly as can be.”
Birthday’s spirit didn’t just touch Toth’s heart. On her many visits to the vet for bandage changes, she grew especially close to Lizzie B. Without even planning it, Lizzie realized she couldn’t let Birthday go.
“It wasn’t even a decision — I just knew,” Lizzie B. said. “I couldn’t imagine my life without her.”
Sadly, one of Birthday’s legs was too badly damaged to save and had to be amputated. But that hasn’t slowed her down. Once she finishes healing and gains her strength, Birthday will head to her forever home — with Lizzie B., the person who loved her back to life.
“There’s just something about her,” Lizzie said. “I was one of the first nurses there when she woke up. I held her in my arms and knew — she belongs with me.”
Thanks to the kindness of strangers and the fierce will of one tiny cat, Birthday’s toughest days are now behind her — and her brightest ones are just beginning.
To help cats like Birthday get the care they need, you can make a donation to Pet Friends.
