A Tribute To Scarlett, The Bravest Mother

George Washington once said, “All I am I owe to my mother.” Those of us who can say that are lucky, and as we commemorate our own mothers this year we also celebrate all mothers – especially those who have risen above average and made a place in our hearts by their selflessness and courage.

When we think of courageous mothers, who can forget Scarlett? She was the New York stray cat who touched the hearts of people throughout the world by using five of her nine lives to save her kittens, one by one, from a burning garage in Brooklyn, NY, and badly scorching herself in the process …

Scarlett, A Mother With a Heart of a Lion

From Scarlett the Cat, Facebook group

Scarlett was a former stray cat, probably born in June 1995, whose efforts to save her kittens from a fire, at serious harm to herself, attracted worldwide media attention and has been related in a number of non-fiction books.

On October 15, 2008, Scarlett died.

SCARLETT’S LEGACY

On March 30, 1996, Scarlett was in an abandoned garage allegedly used as a crack house in Brooklyn, New York (United States), with her five kittens when a fire started for undetermined reasons. The New York Fire Department responded to a call about the fire and quickly extinguished it. When the fire was under control, one of the firefighters on the scene, David Giannelli, noticed Scarlett carrying her kittens away from the garage, one by one. Scarlett herself had been severely burned in the process of pulling her kittens from the fire. Her eyes were blistered shut, her ears radically burned, her paws burned, and her coat seriously singed. The hair on her face was almost completely burned away. After saving the kittens, she was seen to touch each of her kittens with her nose to ensure they were all there and alive, as the blisters on her eyes kept her from being able to see them, and then collapsed unconscious.

Gianelli took the intact family to the veterinary clinic of the North Shore Animal League, in Port Washington, New York, where Scarlett and her kittens were treated. The weakest of the kittens, a white one, died of a virus a month after the fire. However, after three months of treatment and recovery, during which time one of the staff of the League stated Scarlett was “spoiled rotten” and treated like a queen, Scarlett and her surviving kittens were well enough to be adopted.

The story of the brave cat was quickly known in the world, the veterinary hospital where Scarlett was taken care of, and her kittens received more than 7000 propostions asking to adopt these cats, these suggestions even from Japan, the Netherlands, South Africa …

Scarlett, Fire Cat, the Bravest of Cats

The story of this feline mother’s heroic efforts to save her kittens attracted worldwide media attention, and the League received 7,000 letters offering to adopt Scarlett and her kittens. It ultimately chose to divide the kittens into two pairs, and the two pairs of kittens were given for adoption to residents of Long Island. Scarlett herself was adopted out to Karen Wellen. In her letter, Wellen indicated that, as a result of losing her cat shortly after being injured in a traffic accident herself, she had become more compassionate and would take in only animals with special needs.

The North Shore Animal League has created an award named “The Scarlett Award for Animal Heroism” in her honor. This award is presented to animals that have engaged in heroic acts to benefit others, whether humans or animals. Scarlett died on October 11, 2008, with her adoptive family in Brooklyn. She required ongoing care as a result of her injuries, and shortly before her death was diagnosed with a heart murmur. She eventually died of multiple illnesses.

FROM SCARLETT’S FAMILY

Scarlett was adopted by my family, the Wellens, in June, 1996. She loved to eat, play, snoop around, eat, greet guests, eat, show off and purr, love and sleep. And eat. There were subtle changes in her behavior that first manifested in 2006. But all the tests came back fine. Eventually, in June 2007–on the anniversary of her adoption–she was diagnosed with inoperable lymphoma. There is the school of thought it could have been triggered by food tainted with melamine. We’ll never know. Scarlett responded well to a regimen of chemo and steroids. She was still in remission at the time of her death. However, there were so many other health problems that plagued her: she had been treated for hyperthyroidism, dental disease and kidney disease, which caused her to keep falling. And then there was the heart murmur. All through this horrible time, she remained loving and sweet. My family couldn’t let her suffer any more; she was never going to recover.

On October 11, 2008, we took her to her Oncologist’s office. I held her in my arms for one last time. My mother sang “You Are So Beautiful” to her, as she did every day. And Scarlett peacefully passed from her life of pain.

But her amazing spirit lives on in the hearts of all who have known and loved her …

SCARLETT’S STORY …

• Scarlett: A Mother with the Heart of a Lion
• Scarlett, Fire Cat, The Bravest Cat

What is a mother?

a mother is someone who nurtures and cares
whenever needed, she is always there
a mother is someone who has a kind word to say
especially after a long, trying day.
a mother is someone who will protect
wind rain and elements, she will deflect
a mother swims in the ocean, soars in the sky
walks or crawls on our planet
her young always in her eyes
a mother is wild, a mother is tame
a mother was once a child
at times, she has no name.
but she is a mother
a life she has treasured
there is no scale on this planet
by which this gem can be measured

Karen Lyons Kalmenson