Brave Brooklyn cat that saved kittens from fire continues to inspire

Firefighters were putting out a blaze in an abandoned Brooklyn garage back in the 1990s, when one of the firefighters, David Gianelli, saw a cat carrying her five kittens away from the fire, one by one, according to The Epoch Times.

The mother cat was badly burned in the process, and after touching each of the kittens with her nose to make sure they were OK, she fell unconscious, The Epoch Times reported. Gianelli was so moved that he took the entire feline family to the North Shore Animal League in Port Washington, Long Island.

While one of the kittens died, the mother cat, now known as Scarlett, and the other kittens recovered within three months, The Epoch Times said.  

Eventually, the kittens were adopted in pairs and Scarlett was adopted by Karen Wellen, who had been a victim of a road accident and wanted a cat with special needs.

While Scarlett died more than 10 years ago, in 2008, the North Shore Animal League created an award for brave animals called the “Scarlett Award for Animal Heroism.” Scarlett was also the main character in a book, “Scarlett Saves Her Family.”