Cat found alive after 5 weeks under rubble

German firemen are hailing it as a minor miracle. Almost five weeks after the collapse of Cologne's city archive, a cat has been rescued alive from the rubble, emaciated but unhurt. Felix has now been reunited with his overjoyed owner.

A 12-year-old tabby cat called Felix has been rescued from the rubble of a Cologne apartment building that collapsed almost five weeks ago together with the city's historical archive.



He was reunited with his delighted owner, 34-year-old Andrea Schröder. She had never given up hope and had mounted a desperate search by attaching 50 missing posters with a photo of Felix to lampposts in the district.

Firemen were clearing debris when they heard a weak meowing on Monday afternoon. "First they saw the head and front paws. Then he was carefully freed. The emaciated and exhausted animal looked unhurt and was handed over to his beaming owner shortly afterwards," the Cologne fire brigade said in a statement. The firemen quickly recognized Felix from the photos his owner had distributed. "He's a fighter," Schröder said. "I always felt that Felix wasn't dead."



Felix lived with Schröder's parents in an apartment building that collapsed along with the historical archive on March 3. Two men died and priceless historical documents were lost in the collapse, which has been blamed on the construction of a subway line nearby.

Schröder's parents managed to get to safety in time but Felix was sleeping on their bed when the building fell down. Felix is believed to have survived by drinking rain water. Schröder took him to the vet where he got injections to restore his energy. "He hasn't broken any bones or got any other injuries. He's still a little wobbly on his legs, though," she said.