“Over here!” the snowplow driver shouted as paramedics rushed over. One knelt beside the man, brushing snow from his face. “No pulse wait,” he said suddenly, pressing his glove to the man’s neck. “He’s still alive. Barely.”
When the second medic reached for the cat, it hissed, arching its back. “Leave it,” the first said softly. “It’s keeping him warm.” They wrapped the man in blankets and oxygen tubes, lifting him gently onto the stretcher. Through it all, the cat didn’t budge. Even in the ambulance, as sirens wailed and snow whipped past the windows, the orange stray stayed curled against his chest.
Hours later, inside Cedar Falls Medical Center, Walter was placed under heated blankets and IV fluids. The cat sat quietly at the foot of the bed, unbothered by the bustle of nurses and doctors. One doctor shook his head in disbelief. “This man should’ve frozen to death,” he said. “The only reason he survived is that cat it must’ve kept his core temperature just high enough.” It wasn’t science or luck. It was instinct. And maybe, just maybe, something more.
Continue reading on the next page to find out what happened when Walter woke up!