As they watched the Cane River quickly top its banks on September 27th, Nan Collins and her family rushed to prepare their property in Burnsville, North Carolina, and leave.
While she and her son Jonathon were moving their chicken coop to higher ground, their cat, Ricardo Blanco (a.k.a. Blanco), got out and disappeared into a nearby cove. Nan said the next time they saw him he was on top of one of their campers, but the water level was already too high to rescue him.
And Hurricane Helene was just getting stared.
The family watched in horror as the camper Blanco was on began floating down the river and collided with their next-door neighbor’s house. At that point, the one-and-a-half-year-old cat jumped from the camper to the roof of the house. They saw him try to climb the metal roof as their neighbor’s house began to float away, but he only managed to make it about three-fourths of the way up before he lost his grip. Blanco slid down into the swirling water and disappeared from sight.
“My heart sank and [I felt] immense sadness at how helpless we were to help him,” Nan recalled in a statement shared with Southern Living. “Jonathon immediately began running on the high path to try to save him but was stopped dead in his tracks by a power line that fell in front of him. With a heavy heart, I stopped and prayed for Blanco’s safety and recovery.”
Despite what they saw, the family never gave up hope that Blanco somehow managed to survive. But as time ticked by, it began looking less and less likely that they would be reunited.
Then, eight days after the storm, Jonathon returned to their property to assess the damage and heard a meow. Blanco had made his way back home. Jonathon texted his mom immediately.
“He sent a picture and I knew it was him!” Nan said. “I was so excited, tears of joy and gratitude for Blanco surviving and finding his way back home! I remember being so happy, I wanted to do cartwheels into a flying triple round off!”
The Collins family took Blanco to Best Friends Animal Society’s free mobile vet clinic through a nearby shelter in Yancey County.
“After an extensive amount of time spent in compromised water, Ricardo Blanco had seen better days and needed a check-up,” Best Friends Animal Society said in a press release. “The volunteer vets at the clinic looked him over and treated him for an infection in one eye and both ears, as well as removing a few ticks. That same day, Ricardo Blanco’s family was able to take him home.”
Nan said that Blanco is doing fine and is back to playing and “doing all the normal stuff” thanks to the care he received.
“We wish Ricardo Blanco could tell his story of his time being swept down the river and finding his way back,” she added. “He is an amazing survivor and we appreciate him even more for the love he unconditionally gives our family every day!”