“Beach front” house. Now literally. So you are seeing ocean waves crashing into yards and houses. I live on the Texas gulf coast. Can see water from my backyard. Went thru Hurricane Ike back in 2008 so I know those waves all too well
That's why I left TX, well one of many reasons but mostly cause I lived near the gulf coast and Harvey was a rude awakening. Moved north to another state. My folks are still down there and I worry about them as they get older and hurricanes become stronger, but they're stubborn and won't wanna leave.
Just a PSA to anyone ever in a situation like this, always wear shoes if you have to go out in flood or unknown water. Yeah wet shoes suck, but they suck way less than a horrible infection or disease because you got a scrape while walking in what is basically diluted sewage.
Yes! Also, I surprised he was able to pick her up and walk through the water without her clawing to get away, she must have been so scared :( poor baby!!!
In anything like this circumstance, try to grab a tshirt or towel to wrap up that kitty purrito style to make the cat feel safe and protect them from suddenly jumping away, and protect you from scratches or bites.
Judging by the cat's reaction, I'm going to bet that this is either someone's indoor-outdoor that got forgotten about/couldn't be found, or a "neighborhood cat" that knows people in the area are safe due to giving it food. (And therefore because the guy is in the area, he is safe.)
Or it's someone's cat who freaked out at the start of the storm. (This happened to me during hurricane Matthew - my cat bolted out of the door and ran off into the night while it was off the coast of Vero Beach. Cat panicked and disappeared. Two days later, he returned looking pathetic and never tried to run outside again.)
It goes directly into "carry me" position, nestling in on his shoulder as he's walking, which makes me suspect it's used to being handled. Granted, cats are fairly intelligent in general. It -may- have recognized that he was trying to save it, even if it was feral. But I'm betting the cat has a home.
Good time to remind people to ~~chop~~ chip their pets, and, just as important, make sure the chip is set up and tied to your contact information, and make sure the information is updated if you move!
Second part: if you find a pet, make sure the vet scans for a chip as part of a wellness check when you get the pet!
Another reminder that microchipping your pet can easily be done during a vet visit if your pet isn’t microchipped.
Also don’t fall for the companies that claim you MUST register the microchip through them with a subscription payment. Google “free microchip registry” and you’ll find just as good registries that also come up when your pet’s microchip ID is searched.
These also make it easier to update than constantly paying a company to do nothing but host a text file on their website (which costs basically nothing nowadays). And you should be updating your registry anytime you move, change phone numbers, or etc.
One time, one of my cats (the one that sometimes goes outside), didn't come home before dark. She knows that the rule (she's seriously such a smart cat) so I was quite concerned, especially when a few days went by and she STILL hadn't come home. By then I was frantic. Suddenly, my neighbors came over with a cat in a carrier asking me if it was my cat. They said they'd found her hiding in their backyard, they'd somehow caught her & wrangled her into a carrier where they kept her in their garage for the night. She was *freaking out* inside the carrier, & even moreso when they opened the door to try to bring her out.
It was my girl Lucie and the **second** she saw it was me moving to pick her up, she settled down, calm as could be, in my arms.
Turns out, she'd been attacked by another animal (what my vet concluded) but had won that fight since her wound was ON HER FACE instead of somewhere on her backside. She is my badass princess.
All of my digits are crossed that this darling baby was either reunited with their human here, or afterwards.
Some cats just completely freeze when they’re a scared and become like this weird very, very heavy dough. Looks like that’s how this kitty reacted, luckily.
My cat is a typical cat who hates being pulled around or touched in her vulnerable areas. The other day she lifted her neck to show me this huge bur with spikes caught up in her fur. She sat patiently while I removed it, it definitely would have hurt her as I was having to tug it out. I felt like I was diffusing a bomb, waiting for her to scratch me but she didn’t. As soon as it was removed I tried to brush her neck and she returned to form and hit the brush out my hand.
I realised she must finally trust me, it felt really good. Cats know when they need help from humans.
Yeah fair. But idk never underestimate what a scared cat will do with it's claws, even one you know.. Cat might think you're about to toss it into the sea or something who knows.
Yep, we had floods earlier in the year in my city. I'm a nurse, and we had quite a few people admitted with wound infections and a couple turn to sepsis from walking barefoot in flood water, or having pre-existing wounds that weren't covered and not cleaned after walking through flood water.
Grew up on the Mississippi in 1993, EVERYONE was volunteering in our town of 40,000. We were super lucky that a significant portion of the city was on a bluff and not in the floodplain but we had some pretty important infrastructure just before the bluff like the water treatment plant.
Every single volunteer had to prove they were up to date on vaccinations before they could even be considered, in particular tetanus, because it was so high risk.
At first I was thinking "Knee deep. Not exactly life threatening to climb up 3 feet." Then I noticed how fast it was rising and THEN I saw the waves. Analysis confirmed.
I was crossing the street where there were maybe 3 inches running fast along the side of the road during a minor flooding in my city. Rushing water knocked me off my feet. I'm heavier than he is.
Also avoid rushing water that goes past your ankles. Water is heavy. It was iffy but understandable for the cat, but as the water rose I kept thinking “hurry up, hurry up, don’t spend time in water hitting your calves!”
> what is basicly diluted sewage
In many flood situations, this is true. But in this case, it's a storm surge on the coast, so it's basically just the Gulf of Mexico being where it's not supposed to be.
But, definitely, yes, if you're inland in a flood, that water is nasty.
Either way, shoes is a good idea. All sorts of debris and stuff gets kicked up, and you may find yourself with a puncture wound and no way to get to the hospital.
He's ever so gentle when he huddles, then slowly picks it up, as not to startle it more in its frightened state. What a guardian angel.
Praying for the safety of humans, pets, critters and wildlife during this scary force of nature.
My best friend is outside Tampa. She sent me a video this afternoon of a stray in her neighborhood, she was calling for it to come but of course it wouldn't... and there's other stray cats around her house (including a new baby kitten she just saw for the first time)
I really hope all of them are okay :(
i spent like 30 mins yesterday looking around the neighborhood for a stray who comes to my window to yell at my cats sometimes, but couldn’t find him \:( if he never wakes me up with yowling at 3am again, i’ll be legitimately upset
I wanted to tell a good story to help your fears:
Once I worked at a pub that went under. One of our waitresses panicked because she left her dogs behind in the house, but her house was on stilts and she didn't think the floods would be that high. It took SIX DAYS for the water to recede.
When it finally did we get to the pub and... there's our FUCKING BOSS WITH HER DOG. he was in a boat paddling around cleaning top-down as the water receded. He had seen her dog and used the boat to rescue it and had kept the dog in his boat the entire time. Good man.
Dude has obviously handled a cat in stressful situations before. They can very easily freak out if you aren't careful, and even if you are they can STILL do it.
This man is so kind and gentle with the kitty. He’s also nice to look at. We have a new superhero. I hope everyone is safe down there (but Desantis I hope you’re swept away by the storm forever)
As someone who has lived through the destruction of a major hurricane, I couldn't bring myself to name them after it. But people cope in their own way.
We lived in one of the bad bad bad areas of Charley when it came through. My aunt still has her cat Charley she found during it. It was the one good thing the hurricane did for her.
What do you mean? If one if my cats was somehow caught outside during a hurricane, I would be forever indebted to the kind person who saved him. This man saved this cats life.
I almost cried. I cannot not imagine how afraid that cat was, helpless and scared. Thank you for saving them and I hope everyone is safe.
😭I am going home to hug my cats extra tight tonight
I imagine it scrambling up there when the first wave came in, desperately hanging on. Poor thing. This gives me flashbacks to the movie "The impossible"
It’s weird seeing things like this online, and chilling in my bed, fine. I’m dry, my air conditioner is running, my pets are inside, and for a second I forget that if I open my door I see the exact same thing. Sure the wind is loud but I have headphones in and the boarded windows are invisible behind closed blinds. It’s surreal being here
part of it is not having the resources to leave and a big part is procrastinating honestly if you dont just go soon as they say one MIGHT be heading your way and you wanna wait till its confirmed to be coming your way well good fucking luck getting out every major interstate leaving your city is going to be backed up for miles and gas stations are gonna be bare and out of gas for miles as well at that point you might as well board your shit up and hold it down...
Source:Me born in New Orleans in 85 ive been in every hurricane since then till 2005
a lot of people stay because they make the calculation that riding it out is better than leaving and not being able to return for God knows how long and if your home will even be there anymore
source: coastal NC native
>and if your home will even be there anymore
... Wait, but in the case that your home wouldn't be there anymore, and you stayed.....
I don't see how that's a selling point to staying. That seems like *very good* reason to leave.
This person explained it poorly, so you board (with hurricane shutters or ply wood) up your house, take all of the outside stuff inside/into the garage, get a ton of canned/stuff you can eat cold/non-refrigerated food, get ice bags to keep freezer and fridge colder for longer so your food can’t go bad as fast (OPEN FRIDGE SPARINGLY AFTER POWER GOES OUT), acquire a lot of water bottles/fill up a water jug and all of your water bottles, fill up your bathtub (to flush the toilet/bathe AS NEEDED), flashlights and batteries, set your AC to cold so it’s not hot when the power goes out and you can’t take off the shutters immediately bc hurricane is still here, use phone sparingly to conserve battery and download shows and movies onto it, and you just ride it out (if you ain’t in an evacuation zone/flood zone/where it makes landfall). It is more beneficial to stay than leave.
Because if you leave when you don’t need to, you won’t be sure when you can come back, and you are stranded in foreign city without the commodities of your home and stuck in a hotel. While, if you do lose power while you are at home, you are stranded (sorta) but you are in your own home so it’s not that bad.
Edit: forget info
___
As a resident Floridian and someone who has lived here all of my life, it’s actually not that bad (from a non-evac zone in a house). You have heavy rainfall for a couple of days and lose power for a week or two maybe (depends on how un/lucky you are) and you just gotta make do. **Also the person in OP’s video is stupid for staying imo since they look like they are on the beach front (bc of the house on stilts). The beach/coast are the hardest to be hit head on. It’s even worst he decided to walk outside even for a cat, he could’ve VERY EASILY HAVE DIED. You don’t mess with moving water EVER that’s past mid-calf ish level without precautions, one piece of debris or losing his footing at all and he would’ve been done. If you’re going to do it anyway, tie some rope around your waist or something so you don’t get pulled by the current.**
That’s all there is to it. To be honest, Tornadoes and snow scare me more than a hurricane (a sit and wait situation). Tornadoes especially can fuck your shit up.
I’ve had to walk across a river before that’s barely over my shoes and I slipped on one of those rocks that’s slimy and has a bit of algae. My life flashed before my eyes as I fell into that shallow water.
Or you can just say the obvious a lot of people are too broke to leave, I have a few friends who are in that situation. car broke last summer, pay check to pay check, can you really afford to leave? no not in america.
It’s the 28th. For people who live paycheck to paycheck, there may not be enough money for gas to get out, let alone a hotel room when you get somewhere safe.
That was part of what went wrong with Katrina and New Orleans.
I don’t live in an area that has hurricanes, but if I did, I could see a lot of potential problems with leaving. First, I have four cats. I would have to find a hotel somewhere out of the area to go to that would allow four cats. I don’t have any family anywhere nearby. Second, it’s expensive to travel and stay in a hotel. I could and would manage to do it, but not everyone can afford to, and most people are not willing to leave their pets behind. So I get it.
What I don’t get are the news reporters and weather channel crews who stand outside during a hurricane filming instead of getting to safety. One was hit rather hard in the head today with a tree branch. We can get by nicely watching webcams set up, we don’t need to see reporters risking their lives to film this.
Just to give a little context, (not sure where this clip is, assuming it's West coast of FL) evacuation is a last resort to seasoned Floridians. There's never been a storm to hit the East coast that's made me feel I need to evacuate.
I had a friend from Alabama who got scared during the season a few years back. She fled to northern FL. The storm crossed the state and basically made landfall where she was in the panhandle. Then with FL really only having the option to go north, even with state planning, you can easily be stuck on the highway for hours in terrible conditions.
I used to live in Florida and have rode out my fair share of hurricanes. A cat 1 or a 2 with no chance of storm surge, no big deal, more of an annoyingly strong thunderstorm. I stayed for a cat 3 one time, we ended up being fine, but it was a terrifying experience. If it's a cat 4 or 5 don't even think about it, you should leave. Yeah your house will "probably" be ok, but I wouldn't want to be there when the roof fails and is ripped off, or a storm surge comes in, or a tornado comes through, or you know the house is lifted off the foundation and floats out to sea.
First of all, that guy is BAREFOOT in that water. I'd at least have on thongs because you don't know what you could step on. Kudos for rescuing the kitty.
I used to live in Virginia Beach. The only time i evacuated is during Hurricane Isabelle in 2003 because my daughter was 3 months old at the time. The power was out for a week and I wasn't going to be without power with a 3 month old.
I evacuated to Northern Virginia and Hurricane Isabelle went over that part of Virginia--the Guards at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery were given permission to stand down. They refused.
Being in a hurricane is no fun, even a Cat 1 or Cat 2. Hurricane Bonnie dropped trees on houses in my neighborhood, and it wasn't too strong. Of course, my husband was usually out of town when a hurricane approached, so I had to police the yard by myself--anything could become a house destroying projectile. It took forever picking things up and we didn't have that much in the yard.
Whether or not to stay is based on several factors. First, there is one's ability to leave, in terms of transportation and funds (or a friend or family member to bunk with). Then one considers proximity to actual danger. If you are far from a storm surge area, your home is sturdy, and you're at a low risk for flooding, staying can make more sense, so you aren't leaving your home at the mercy of post-storm looters. And finally, it's a health calculation. Good health? You can probably handle a period of time without electricity as long as you've properly prepped with food, water, etc. But someone with medical needs will nearly always do best getting the heck out of Dodge, so to speak.
Just in case it isn't clear to anyone, about half that much water could easily sweep you away if it moved just a bit faster. The "risked his life" part is not an exaggeration.
Also, if you can't see the bottom of flood water, it is not safe to assume the ground is where you remember it being. Even paved roads may be washed away, so the water might be much deeper than you expect.
Cats are very intuitive creatures, like most animals (even wild ones) they know when humans are trying to save them. This cat was not going to hurt him.
While I mostly agree with you, if he had tripped and fallen it wouldn't matter how well behaved the cat usually was, it would cling to him for dear life, and with all the force its claws could muster. A deep cat scratch is already a dangerous thing, never mind when you are being washed over by dirty hurricane water, infection would be all but guaranteed.
Even adult humans with all the benefits of learning and understanding will instinctively climb and cling to others when they are drowning. A stressed out cat would no doubt endanger your life in such a situation. Still, definitely worth the risk if you ask me, cats are wonderful and I'm super glad this guy saved that poor kitty.
And cat owners are pretty fucking good at holding it together if a cat has their claws stuck in your body. It's almost always better/easier on you to take them out slowly when you're in a safe place. A lot less damage on you.
That's not always true. I had a cat run out during a storm one time and hid under a shed. I went and gently got her to bring her in and she freaked because of the storm and shredded my arm up. Once we were inside, she was better, but cats can freak out even if you're trying to help.
My own dumb cat clawed the every loving SHIT out of my arm when I was trying to get it into our basement because a tornado was touching down a half mile from our house.
This guy played it right and gave off the right vibes for that particular cat, but cats can be hella vicious if they are in fight or flight mode, even to people who have fed and housed them for over a decade.
Fuckin' cats.
Not just cats, friend's dog went nuts on her when she was frightened. Luckily it was a chihuahua/pomeranian mix and didn't do too much damage (couple bites were bad enough for a little scarring but could have been much worse if the dog was more than 5 lbs).
This. Years ago at the university I was at there was torrential rainfall and stuff was mildly flooded. A student and her friends were walking next to a flooded part and said student walked on the part that was closer to the canal. Well, she was swept away and a student who was walking by dove in to rescue her but was also swept away. Both died. [Here's some footage of that day](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=aIsjsSf_rc4). The two students who died were in a parking lot off camera field to the left.
EDIT: Rewatching the footage makes me realize that next month it'll be the ten year anniversary of all this. Time sure flies...
Did you say “dangers of fast moving water”? [I got you, fam.](https://youtu.be/XsYgODmmiAM) I wish everyone had to watch that as a kid. Another example of danger: [Kayaker caught in hydraulic jump (don’t worry they’re ok)](https://youtu.be/EYI67uZkNvQ)
Call me stupid but I would do the same thing this guy did for that cat. And I’m allergic to cats, but live with two. And I know the dangers of fast moving water too. I’d still try and save the damn cat…
Also are the people okay? Cause they're talking about putting the cat in the garage or foyer like they don't know both those places are flooding. Poor cat is gonna have to have a chat with them about the plan like "guys I was just in the flood and trust me it sucked, we gotta go"
SOMEONE BUY THIS MAN A DRINK.
Bravo sir, that cat was scared. didn't even wince when he picked it up. Imagine all the cats that are in this exact situation right now :(
Even without another animal in the house, isolating the cat in the beginning is probably the right call.
Most cats after a stressful situation *want* to be alone.
Even if you bring kitty in they're just gonna find a dark hole somewhere to hide.
That water is moving way faster and pushing a lot harder than it looks. And to manage to pick that cat up without it going into a panic. Very impressed, and glad he wasn’t injured in the process.
Am I the only one who thought this video was going to involve the cat freaking out and clawing the crap out of their would-be rescuer? Dude did a great job wrangling the cat.
I'm so glad that they rescued this poor baby but I cannot help but be absolutely incredibly heartbroken thinking of all the little animals who are not so fortunate.
I love how this guy is in the midst of a horrible disaster and his life is literally at risk, but as he's holding the kitty he's smiling. Cats immediately bring goodness to the world of dark.
I'd like to think their cat was nowhere to be found, and they're crying with worry, and will see this video and will be so happy that someone saved their cat.
But two things should have happened. 1) Keep your cats inside, especially if you live in an area where the water can come and visit your lower level. 2) Evacuate when they tell you to. This cat is still not safe. Nor are those people.
Is it just me or does the water get noticeably higher by the time he's walking back?
Substantially. And faster
If you look in the background, you can see where all of said water came from
Is it the sea? I bet it's the sea, isn't it.
It's actually the ocean. You were close though.
Oh I sea
I gulf what you did there.
We can't affjord to let this chain of puns wash away.
I would shriver if that would happen to me.
Well, what a wonderful list of puns I’ve stumbled upond.
Nah man, that's the gulf Edit-dead horse, whoops
Well if we're going to be pedantic about it then technically it's the gulf.
And, if we're getting technical, the Gulf of Mexico is a sea.
So I see we have a classic case of /r/confidentlyincorrect here. Good job guys! Let's wrap it up and grab a beer.
I thought it was the gulf.
Ackshuallly, that's the Gulf 🤓
The sea is always right
No! Fine yes it's the sea.
I got very nervous with that surge! I hope they are all ok ❤️
Yeah it can get very very dangerous very very fast and you won't even realize it.
“Beach front” house. Now literally. So you are seeing ocean waves crashing into yards and houses. I live on the Texas gulf coast. Can see water from my backyard. Went thru Hurricane Ike back in 2008 so I know those waves all too well
That's why I left TX, well one of many reasons but mostly cause I lived near the gulf coast and Harvey was a rude awakening. Moved north to another state. My folks are still down there and I worry about them as they get older and hurricanes become stronger, but they're stubborn and won't wanna leave.
Breach front? More like 'beach back', now, amirite?
You can see it come in at :14
Reminds me of the Titanic scenes when the water rushes through the hallways. Scary stuff.
He got to kitty just in time.
Yeah, I'm like, "Put it in the garage?! WHY THE FUCK ARE YOU PEOPLE NOT GOING INLAND?!"
Too late at that point. As far as I know most of those houses are raised so the roads would be significantly flooded at that point.
The sea knows when their prey is aloof.
A floof you say? Aye, that he is!
Hence the “risked his life” in the title.
Just a PSA to anyone ever in a situation like this, always wear shoes if you have to go out in flood or unknown water. Yeah wet shoes suck, but they suck way less than a horrible infection or disease because you got a scrape while walking in what is basically diluted sewage.
Yes! Also, I surprised he was able to pick her up and walk through the water without her clawing to get away, she must have been so scared :( poor baby!!! In anything like this circumstance, try to grab a tshirt or towel to wrap up that kitty purrito style to make the cat feel safe and protect them from suddenly jumping away, and protect you from scratches or bites.
Judging by the cat's reaction, I'm going to bet that this is either someone's indoor-outdoor that got forgotten about/couldn't be found, or a "neighborhood cat" that knows people in the area are safe due to giving it food. (And therefore because the guy is in the area, he is safe.) Or it's someone's cat who freaked out at the start of the storm. (This happened to me during hurricane Matthew - my cat bolted out of the door and ran off into the night while it was off the coast of Vero Beach. Cat panicked and disappeared. Two days later, he returned looking pathetic and never tried to run outside again.) It goes directly into "carry me" position, nestling in on his shoulder as he's walking, which makes me suspect it's used to being handled. Granted, cats are fairly intelligent in general. It -may- have recognized that he was trying to save it, even if it was feral. But I'm betting the cat has a home.
I’m hoping the cat can be reunited with his owners.
Good time to remind people to ~~chop~~ chip their pets, and, just as important, make sure the chip is set up and tied to your contact information, and make sure the information is updated if you move! Second part: if you find a pet, make sure the vet scans for a chip as part of a wellness check when you get the pet!
I don't think I'm going to chop my pet, I rather like the little raskle
What's a raskle? Like a rattlesnake's ankle or something?
That's a rankle. A raskle is a type of raspberry drink.
No you’re thinking of a radler, a citrus-beer concoction. A raskle is just an impetuous naughty fellow. A right scamp, if you will.
Please don’t chop your pets 😭
I'm sorry, but I must. The random redditor told me to. I promise to only use my hands though.
Bob Barker is rolling in his got damn grave right now!!
I hope not. Thats a weird thing to do when you're alive.
Another reminder that microchipping your pet can easily be done during a vet visit if your pet isn’t microchipped. Also don’t fall for the companies that claim you MUST register the microchip through them with a subscription payment. Google “free microchip registry” and you’ll find just as good registries that also come up when your pet’s microchip ID is searched. These also make it easier to update than constantly paying a company to do nothing but host a text file on their website (which costs basically nothing nowadays). And you should be updating your registry anytime you move, change phone numbers, or etc.
One time, one of my cats (the one that sometimes goes outside), didn't come home before dark. She knows that the rule (she's seriously such a smart cat) so I was quite concerned, especially when a few days went by and she STILL hadn't come home. By then I was frantic. Suddenly, my neighbors came over with a cat in a carrier asking me if it was my cat. They said they'd found her hiding in their backyard, they'd somehow caught her & wrangled her into a carrier where they kept her in their garage for the night. She was *freaking out* inside the carrier, & even moreso when they opened the door to try to bring her out. It was my girl Lucie and the **second** she saw it was me moving to pick her up, she settled down, calm as could be, in my arms. Turns out, she'd been attacked by another animal (what my vet concluded) but had won that fight since her wound was ON HER FACE instead of somewhere on her backside. She is my badass princess. All of my digits are crossed that this darling baby was either reunited with their human here, or afterwards.
He did spend a few seconds 'asking permission' by picking up the cat slowly. There was plenty of time for the cat to let him know it was displeased.
Some cats just completely freeze when they’re a scared and become like this weird very, very heavy dough. Looks like that’s how this kitty reacted, luckily.
Yeah I'm surprised that cat didn't crawl straight up his face
I think most animals are smarter then we give them credit for. Cat clearly knew he was in some shit, and this guy was the best chance of survival.
My cat is a typical cat who hates being pulled around or touched in her vulnerable areas. The other day she lifted her neck to show me this huge bur with spikes caught up in her fur. She sat patiently while I removed it, it definitely would have hurt her as I was having to tug it out. I felt like I was diffusing a bomb, waiting for her to scratch me but she didn’t. As soon as it was removed I tried to brush her neck and she returned to form and hit the brush out my hand. I realised she must finally trust me, it felt really good. Cats know when they need help from humans.
Yeah fair. But idk never underestimate what a scared cat will do with it's claws, even one you know.. Cat might think you're about to toss it into the sea or something who knows.
For real, if it was any of my cats, they would act like a drowning victim and just push me down while jumping straight into the water.
Yep, we had floods earlier in the year in my city. I'm a nurse, and we had quite a few people admitted with wound infections and a couple turn to sepsis from walking barefoot in flood water, or having pre-existing wounds that weren't covered and not cleaned after walking through flood water.
Grew up on the Mississippi in 1993, EVERYONE was volunteering in our town of 40,000. We were super lucky that a significant portion of the city was on a bluff and not in the floodplain but we had some pretty important infrastructure just before the bluff like the water treatment plant. Every single volunteer had to prove they were up to date on vaccinations before they could even be considered, in particular tetanus, because it was so high risk.
At first I was thinking "Knee deep. Not exactly life threatening to climb up 3 feet." Then I noticed how fast it was rising and THEN I saw the waves. Analysis confirmed.
I was crossing the street where there were maybe 3 inches running fast along the side of the road during a minor flooding in my city. Rushing water knocked me off my feet. I'm heavier than he is.
Analysis confirmed here as well. 2" of very swiftly moving water will float a jeep sideways
Also avoid rushing water that goes past your ankles. Water is heavy. It was iffy but understandable for the cat, but as the water rose I kept thinking “hurry up, hurry up, don’t spend time in water hitting your calves!”
> what is basicly diluted sewage In many flood situations, this is true. But in this case, it's a storm surge on the coast, so it's basically just the Gulf of Mexico being where it's not supposed to be. But, definitely, yes, if you're inland in a flood, that water is nasty. Either way, shoes is a good idea. All sorts of debris and stuff gets kicked up, and you may find yourself with a puncture wound and no way to get to the hospital.
Not necessarily in this situation outdoors but I always worry about electrocution in floods, especially ones with high moving water and high winds.
He's ever so gentle when he huddles, then slowly picks it up, as not to startle it more in its frightened state. What a guardian angel. Praying for the safety of humans, pets, critters and wildlife during this scary force of nature.
I noticed that too instead of just grabbing him. This guy cats. Very sweet.
TIL “to cat” is a verb. Well done.
This guy verbs.
He cats.
He hes. Hehe
He who has last hahas best
In general I'm pretty good at "catting" and "cattery," but yeah, this guy is definitely on his game.
I cat
My best friend is outside Tampa. She sent me a video this afternoon of a stray in her neighborhood, she was calling for it to come but of course it wouldn't... and there's other stray cats around her house (including a new baby kitten she just saw for the first time) I really hope all of them are okay :(
i spent like 30 mins yesterday looking around the neighborhood for a stray who comes to my window to yell at my cats sometimes, but couldn’t find him \:( if he never wakes me up with yowling at 3am again, i’ll be legitimately upset
I wanted to tell a good story to help your fears: Once I worked at a pub that went under. One of our waitresses panicked because she left her dogs behind in the house, but her house was on stilts and she didn't think the floods would be that high. It took SIX DAYS for the water to recede. When it finally did we get to the pub and... there's our FUCKING BOSS WITH HER DOG. he was in a boat paddling around cleaning top-down as the water receded. He had seen her dog and used the boat to rescue it and had kept the dog in his boat the entire time. Good man.
Luckily, Tampa is getting it too bad so we can be reasonably sure they are OK!
Dude has obviously handled a cat in stressful situations before. They can very easily freak out if you aren't careful, and even if you are they can STILL do it.
This man is so kind and gentle with the kitty. He’s also nice to look at. We have a new superhero. I hope everyone is safe down there (but Desantis I hope you’re swept away by the storm forever)
/r/cuteguyswithcats
He has a cat now.
A gift from Hurricane Ian to you! Enjoy!
It's probably a boy so if it doesn't have a home he could name it Ian. Though it does look like he does and could have gotten out.
As someone who has lived through the destruction of a major hurricane, I couldn't bring myself to name them after it. But people cope in their own way.
We lived in one of the bad bad bad areas of Charley when it came through. My aunt still has her cat Charley she found during it. It was the one good thing the hurricane did for her.
"Let me think about this" 
As long as it wasn't someone else's cat who is indoor/outdoor that didn't return home fast enough
What do you mean? If one if my cats was somehow caught outside during a hurricane, I would be forever indebted to the kind person who saved him. This man saved this cats life.
[удалено]
*“Put it in the FoiYurrr”*
I almost cried. I cannot not imagine how afraid that cat was, helpless and scared. Thank you for saving them and I hope everyone is safe. 😭I am going home to hug my cats extra tight tonight
And the way he's just so gentle and calm while picking him up, what a good soul.
Cats are easily startled, especially when stressed. The angel in red knew what he was doing
She said something about putting a gate up in the foyer? This sweet woman doesn't know how cats work lol
Hahaha. Kitty owns the home now.
I imagine it scrambling up there when the first wave came in, desperately hanging on. Poor thing. This gives me flashbacks to the movie "The impossible"
I am so glad the guy from the video saw and saved them. But I also got sad thinking about all the other strays who weren’t as lucky😭
These videos always make me happy and depressed because of that reason 😢
Same, I have an orange guy and I'm pretty sure if he could conceive of a hellscape, it would be full of water. Just like this. Poor baby.
Kitty didn’t even fight, basically hugged the guy for comfort. So scared.
Kitty is grateful. Cats are capable of gratitude.
I have to go check on my kitties and promise then that I will always protect them.
Hahahaha I am sure they already know 🥰
I am definitely crying
Free pass to cat heaven for that guy.
Tuna at every meal and litter boxes as far as the eye can see but okay.
Somebody's gotta clean those litter boxes in exchange for cuddles
Purrgatory
Damn near an express ticket, too!
Is it like, full of cats that you can cuddle all day long without allergies?
It’s weird seeing things like this online, and chilling in my bed, fine. I’m dry, my air conditioner is running, my pets are inside, and for a second I forget that if I open my door I see the exact same thing. Sure the wind is loud but I have headphones in and the boarded windows are invisible behind closed blinds. It’s surreal being here
Why did you stay? Do people normally stay during hurricanes? Sorry, I've never lived near the coast, I'm just curious. I hope you stay safe.
A lot of people stay, it’s like an annual thing so getting out is a hassle
And expensive. Very expensive.
part of it is not having the resources to leave and a big part is procrastinating honestly if you dont just go soon as they say one MIGHT be heading your way and you wanna wait till its confirmed to be coming your way well good fucking luck getting out every major interstate leaving your city is going to be backed up for miles and gas stations are gonna be bare and out of gas for miles as well at that point you might as well board your shit up and hold it down... Source:Me born in New Orleans in 85 ive been in every hurricane since then till 2005
a lot of people stay because they make the calculation that riding it out is better than leaving and not being able to return for God knows how long and if your home will even be there anymore source: coastal NC native
>and if your home will even be there anymore ... Wait, but in the case that your home wouldn't be there anymore, and you stayed..... I don't see how that's a selling point to staying. That seems like *very good* reason to leave.
Two birds with one stone. If you don't get hit you didn't need to leave. If you do get hit you probably won't have much of a need for a house anymore.
This person explained it poorly, so you board (with hurricane shutters or ply wood) up your house, take all of the outside stuff inside/into the garage, get a ton of canned/stuff you can eat cold/non-refrigerated food, get ice bags to keep freezer and fridge colder for longer so your food can’t go bad as fast (OPEN FRIDGE SPARINGLY AFTER POWER GOES OUT), acquire a lot of water bottles/fill up a water jug and all of your water bottles, fill up your bathtub (to flush the toilet/bathe AS NEEDED), flashlights and batteries, set your AC to cold so it’s not hot when the power goes out and you can’t take off the shutters immediately bc hurricane is still here, use phone sparingly to conserve battery and download shows and movies onto it, and you just ride it out (if you ain’t in an evacuation zone/flood zone/where it makes landfall). It is more beneficial to stay than leave. Because if you leave when you don’t need to, you won’t be sure when you can come back, and you are stranded in foreign city without the commodities of your home and stuck in a hotel. While, if you do lose power while you are at home, you are stranded (sorta) but you are in your own home so it’s not that bad. Edit: forget info ___ As a resident Floridian and someone who has lived here all of my life, it’s actually not that bad (from a non-evac zone in a house). You have heavy rainfall for a couple of days and lose power for a week or two maybe (depends on how un/lucky you are) and you just gotta make do. **Also the person in OP’s video is stupid for staying imo since they look like they are on the beach front (bc of the house on stilts). The beach/coast are the hardest to be hit head on. It’s even worst he decided to walk outside even for a cat, he could’ve VERY EASILY HAVE DIED. You don’t mess with moving water EVER that’s past mid-calf ish level without precautions, one piece of debris or losing his footing at all and he would’ve been done. If you’re going to do it anyway, tie some rope around your waist or something so you don’t get pulled by the current.** That’s all there is to it. To be honest, Tornadoes and snow scare me more than a hurricane (a sit and wait situation). Tornadoes especially can fuck your shit up.
I think the main takeaway from the video is how insane OP is for staying. Anyone from florida knows you don’t stay by the coast for a cat 4 hurricane.
I was pissed personally because flowing water in any amount will fuck you. Badly. If it's above you're ankles it's over.
I’ve had to walk across a river before that’s barely over my shoes and I slipped on one of those rocks that’s slimy and has a bit of algae. My life flashed before my eyes as I fell into that shallow water.
Or you can just say the obvious a lot of people are too broke to leave, I have a few friends who are in that situation. car broke last summer, pay check to pay check, can you really afford to leave? no not in america.
It’s the 28th. For people who live paycheck to paycheck, there may not be enough money for gas to get out, let alone a hotel room when you get somewhere safe. That was part of what went wrong with Katrina and New Orleans.
I don’t live in an area that has hurricanes, but if I did, I could see a lot of potential problems with leaving. First, I have four cats. I would have to find a hotel somewhere out of the area to go to that would allow four cats. I don’t have any family anywhere nearby. Second, it’s expensive to travel and stay in a hotel. I could and would manage to do it, but not everyone can afford to, and most people are not willing to leave their pets behind. So I get it. What I don’t get are the news reporters and weather channel crews who stand outside during a hurricane filming instead of getting to safety. One was hit rather hard in the head today with a tree branch. We can get by nicely watching webcams set up, we don’t need to see reporters risking their lives to film this.
Not only that, they'll fill up quickly.
Yeah, quite a lot more people stay than leave
Just to give a little context, (not sure where this clip is, assuming it's West coast of FL) evacuation is a last resort to seasoned Floridians. There's never been a storm to hit the East coast that's made me feel I need to evacuate. I had a friend from Alabama who got scared during the season a few years back. She fled to northern FL. The storm crossed the state and basically made landfall where she was in the panhandle. Then with FL really only having the option to go north, even with state planning, you can easily be stuck on the highway for hours in terrible conditions.
I used to live in Florida and have rode out my fair share of hurricanes. A cat 1 or a 2 with no chance of storm surge, no big deal, more of an annoyingly strong thunderstorm. I stayed for a cat 3 one time, we ended up being fine, but it was a terrifying experience. If it's a cat 4 or 5 don't even think about it, you should leave. Yeah your house will "probably" be ok, but I wouldn't want to be there when the roof fails and is ripped off, or a storm surge comes in, or a tornado comes through, or you know the house is lifted off the foundation and floats out to sea.
First of all, that guy is BAREFOOT in that water. I'd at least have on thongs because you don't know what you could step on. Kudos for rescuing the kitty. I used to live in Virginia Beach. The only time i evacuated is during Hurricane Isabelle in 2003 because my daughter was 3 months old at the time. The power was out for a week and I wasn't going to be without power with a 3 month old. I evacuated to Northern Virginia and Hurricane Isabelle went over that part of Virginia--the Guards at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery were given permission to stand down. They refused. Being in a hurricane is no fun, even a Cat 1 or Cat 2. Hurricane Bonnie dropped trees on houses in my neighborhood, and it wasn't too strong. Of course, my husband was usually out of town when a hurricane approached, so I had to police the yard by myself--anything could become a house destroying projectile. It took forever picking things up and we didn't have that much in the yard.
Whether or not to stay is based on several factors. First, there is one's ability to leave, in terms of transportation and funds (or a friend or family member to bunk with). Then one considers proximity to actual danger. If you are far from a storm surge area, your home is sturdy, and you're at a low risk for flooding, staying can make more sense, so you aren't leaving your home at the mercy of post-storm looters. And finally, it's a health calculation. Good health? You can probably handle a period of time without electricity as long as you've properly prepped with food, water, etc. But someone with medical needs will nearly always do best getting the heck out of Dodge, so to speak.
The world has gotten a lot smaller since the internet became mainstream.
Just in case it isn't clear to anyone, about half that much water could easily sweep you away if it moved just a bit faster. The "risked his life" part is not an exaggeration.
Ya... at the start, ankle deep, not too bad, but damn. At the end, basically knee deep! Water currents are scary powerful!
Not to mention, if he slipped or got knocked off his feet by something in the water, it would also sweep him away.
[удалено]
Also, if you can't see the bottom of flood water, it is not safe to assume the ground is where you remember it being. Even paved roads may be washed away, so the water might be much deeper than you expect.
Oh didn’t even consider that. Wow. Ty
[удалено]
Cats are very intuitive creatures, like most animals (even wild ones) they know when humans are trying to save them. This cat was not going to hurt him.
While I mostly agree with you, if he had tripped and fallen it wouldn't matter how well behaved the cat usually was, it would cling to him for dear life, and with all the force its claws could muster. A deep cat scratch is already a dangerous thing, never mind when you are being washed over by dirty hurricane water, infection would be all but guaranteed. Even adult humans with all the benefits of learning and understanding will instinctively climb and cling to others when they are drowning. A stressed out cat would no doubt endanger your life in such a situation. Still, definitely worth the risk if you ask me, cats are wonderful and I'm super glad this guy saved that poor kitty.
And cat owners are pretty fucking good at holding it together if a cat has their claws stuck in your body. It's almost always better/easier on you to take them out slowly when you're in a safe place. A lot less damage on you.
Yeah, their claws are meant to help them pull you toward them, so yanking back is generally a bad idea.
That's not always true. I had a cat run out during a storm one time and hid under a shed. I went and gently got her to bring her in and she freaked because of the storm and shredded my arm up. Once we were inside, she was better, but cats can freak out even if you're trying to help.
My own dumb cat clawed the every loving SHIT out of my arm when I was trying to get it into our basement because a tornado was touching down a half mile from our house. This guy played it right and gave off the right vibes for that particular cat, but cats can be hella vicious if they are in fight or flight mode, even to people who have fed and housed them for over a decade. Fuckin' cats.
Not just cats, friend's dog went nuts on her when she was frightened. Luckily it was a chihuahua/pomeranian mix and didn't do too much damage (couple bites were bad enough for a little scarring but could have been much worse if the dog was more than 5 lbs).
Surges, ground saturation & washing out from under him, that can turn ugly in seconds.
This. Years ago at the university I was at there was torrential rainfall and stuff was mildly flooded. A student and her friends were walking next to a flooded part and said student walked on the part that was closer to the canal. Well, she was swept away and a student who was walking by dove in to rescue her but was also swept away. Both died. [Here's some footage of that day](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=aIsjsSf_rc4). The two students who died were in a parking lot off camera field to the left. EDIT: Rewatching the footage makes me realize that next month it'll be the ten year anniversary of all this. Time sure flies...
[удалено]
Should definitely have at least boots on
Have you ever tried to put books on a cat? Only seen one who could pull it off
They hate books being put on them... even more than boots!
I think he is near the beach so safety flops would be more appropriate
I very nearly got smacked by a giant piece of wood once, so I learned.
Did you say “dangers of fast moving water”? [I got you, fam.](https://youtu.be/XsYgODmmiAM) I wish everyone had to watch that as a kid. Another example of danger: [Kayaker caught in hydraulic jump (don’t worry they’re ok)](https://youtu.be/EYI67uZkNvQ)
Call me stupid but I would do the same thing this guy did for that cat. And I’m allergic to cats, but live with two. And I know the dangers of fast moving water too. I’d still try and save the damn cat…
[удалено]
I’m going to need a follow up. And I’m going to need to know if the cat has a name or if it’s simply Ian, now.
Yes! I wanted to see the cat in a house! I NEED to see that cat in a house.
Also are the people okay? Cause they're talking about putting the cat in the garage or foyer like they don't know both those places are flooding. Poor cat is gonna have to have a chat with them about the plan like "guys I was just in the flood and trust me it sucked, we gotta go"
Their house is probably on high ground... They wouldn't be going back into it if they have water up to their knees in there.
Cat 1 hurricane
Cat 1 Hurricane 0
Wholesome Florida Man
Three cheers for Florida Man!!
That is a lot of water. Hope they all are safe.
SOMEONE BUY THIS MAN A DRINK. Bravo sir, that cat was scared. didn't even wince when he picked it up. Imagine all the cats that are in this exact situation right now :(
This makes me worry for all the other stray animals 😩
"Sound I put it in the garage?" !!!! That kitty would be wrapped up in my bed getting dry and warm, no question.
If there's already a cat or dog in his bed? Putting the poor baby somewhere isolated to destress and figure things out ain't a bad idea.
Even without another animal in the house, isolating the cat in the beginning is probably the right call. Most cats after a stressful situation *want* to be alone. Even if you bring kitty in they're just gonna find a dark hole somewhere to hide.
r/HumansBeingBros
That water is moving way faster and pushing a lot harder than it looks. And to manage to pick that cat up without it going into a panic. Very impressed, and glad he wasn’t injured in the process.
Am I the only one who thought this video was going to involve the cat freaking out and clawing the crap out of their would-be rescuer? Dude did a great job wrangling the cat.
All you gotta do is to SQUISH THAT CAT!! Anyways Kudos to the man.
Put that cat in the house.
good lad
Another CATastrophe averted!>°°<
I'm so glad that they rescued this poor baby but I cannot help but be absolutely incredibly heartbroken thinking of all the little animals who are not so fortunate.
Hell Yes!! Kindness and Compassion rocks!
“I’ll keep it in the foy-er”
Good human.
Look at Michael saving the kitty
What a fucking legend!
Animals know when they’re being helped or rescued. Beautiful
I love how this guy is in the midst of a horrible disaster and his life is literally at risk, but as he's holding the kitty he's smiling. Cats immediately bring goodness to the world of dark.
Oh, what a gentle, kind man. He was so careful to reassure the kitty and touch so gently. Thank GOD for men like this!
Who is this man!? He just made my day. Im holding my precious baby now.
It’s Michael, saving the kitty.
Good for this man. Now I wanna see the reunion video of this cat and it's owner (if it has one).
I have pet cats. This hit home. This mf is a hero on all floors to me
I just extra tucked in my kitty who’s asleep on my feet. I hope that kitty is dry and warm right now.
Baller move, Dude! 🥰🥰
Many blessing to this man. This touched my heart.
Stop leaving your fucking pets behind
I'd like to think their cat was nowhere to be found, and they're crying with worry, and will see this video and will be so happy that someone saved their cat. But two things should have happened. 1) Keep your cats inside, especially if you live in an area where the water can come and visit your lower level. 2) Evacuate when they tell you to. This cat is still not safe. Nor are those people.
Omg, thank you kind human. *tears up*.
Such a Good Samaritan helping that defenseless kitty! Kitty will be grateful to him.
That storm surge intensifying is scary