MISSOULA, MONTANA - A cat was rescued after an ordeal that included being put in a weighted cage, thrown off a bridge and then stranded in an icy puddle of river slush.

Someone had put the animal in the cage, along with a stone weighing about 7kg, and tossed it into the river, but instead of landing in the water, it bounced several times on the ice and then became stuck.

A pair of passers-by spotted the animal while crossing a footbridge and called for help.

Firefighters took the cat back to their station, dried it off and fed it leftover Christmas turkey and a saucer of milk.

Firefighter Josh Macrow decided to keep it. After his shift he took it to a vet, then home to his 12-year-old daughter.

Naming it was easy, he said. "We call her Lucky."

SOURCE: SAPA-AP, as published in The Star, page 4, Johannesburg, South Africa, 30 December 2005.

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