Viewers online have been moved by the resilience of a group of stray cats amid the devastation of Hurricane Helene in North Carolina.
The four cats were recorded alive and well following the passing of the storm, with the footage shared to Instagram by the manager of the shelter where they reside in Asheville, North Carolina.
The post, which had been shared to Instagram on September 30 under @_oliverandcompanync, has garnered more than 181,000 likes to date. News of the felines’ survival has brought joy to both viewers online and a community facing a long road to recovery.
“The video highlights the cats survival on my porch after a long night of the catastrophic Hurricane Helene came ripping through North Carolina,” Legera Danielides, 35, who is behind the TNR shelter, told Newsweek. “This hurricane was devastating to say the least, it destroyed thousands of homes, properties, caused insane flooding, and the death toll is very high.
“I woke up on September 27, to see my cats all on the porch. They had survived.”
The cameras that Danielides has outside captured the felines sleeping in the shelter boxes that she had made for them.
“We didn’t have power for five days and cell phone service was cut out for about three days, so I had no idea about the devastation around me until I could eventually get on the internet,” she said. “Knowing that so many animals and people were literally washed away by the rivers and creeks overflooding, my heart sank for that loss of life.
“So I’m sure you can imagine the immense gratitude I felt that all four of these babies lived.”
Viewers were able to see the black cats walking along the patio of their trap-neuter-return (TNR) shelter in Asheville, looking both healthy and content. These shelters aim to manage feral cat populations by taking them in, neutering them and releasing them back into the wild.
An overlaid text on the video read: “All my stray cats survived Hurricane Helene.”
“I just got cellphone service back and I’m posting to share that all my stray cats survived the hurricane here in Asheville,” Danielides, who is originally from New York, said in the post. “I built them each some shelters and they stayed dry and cozy in the boxes right up until the power cut off, from what I can [see] on the ring cameras.
“Sharing the joy during this really difficult time. Asheville is a mess and it’ll [take] a long time to recover, but I’m so thankful these little munchkins survived and are with me.”
Hurricane Helene, a Category 4 storm, made landfall near Perry, Florida, on the night of September 26 with ferocious 140 mph winds. Its destructive path stretched over 800 miles, wreaking havoc across six states in the southeast.
From Florida to North Carolina, the hurricane inflicted catastrophic damage, leading to widespread flooding, power outages and loss of life. Reports indicate that more than 200 individuals died from Helene, marking it as one of the deadliest hurricanes to hit the U.S. mainland in recent years.
In Asheville, North Carolina, where the stray kittens were found, the impact of Hurricane Helene was severe. The region has experienced extensive flooding and wind damage, leading to prolonged power and water outages and disruption of communication networks. By setting up makeshift shelters for the cats, the local resident ensured they had a dry and safe haven amid the chaos.
The video has stirred many emotions among viewers online, providing a glimmer of hope amid the tragedy. Instagram users from across the globe have expressed their relief and happiness over the survival of the kittens, who have become an unexpected symbol of perseverance.
“Bless you for taking them in. I’m horrified for western North Carolina. The devastation is horrendous,” one viewer, @thursdaynotwednesday, said.
Another added: “This has to be the best feeling in the world right now. All your babies survived. Bless your heart. May you keep getting blessed. Those babies love you so much.”
“This made me so emotional. May God bless you tenfold,” another, @enah.vas, said.
“When I started seeing the stray cats and kittens, I felt it was my duty to get them trapped, neutered and released to help bring down the stray cat population because it’s a huge problem,” Danielides, who used to work in musical theatre, said. “That’s how the four cats in the video came to be with me.
“The response to their survival on social media has been beautiful. To see strangers from all over the world loving on animals they’ve never met, and leaving comments of happiness and gratitude for them, well, it expanded my heart to see such overwhelming compassion.”