a long-haired tabby cat has been hailed ahero after finding an abandoned baby in a street and climbing in the box he had beenleft in to protect him from the cold. as well as making sure the three-month-olddidn't freeze to death, the moggy raised the alarm by crying out to make people aware ofthe boy's presence. irina lavrova, 68, who lives near to wherethe tot was dumped in obinsk, russia, was throwing out rubbish when she heard mashathe cat meowing near the bins. she went over to check masha - a communalcat - was all right, and could not believe her eyes when she saw the baby boy lying amongnext to the moggy. "masha is a communal cat who everyone takesturns in looking after," she said.
"she is very placid and friendly so when iheard her mewing i thought that perhaps she had injured herself because normally she wouldhave come and said hello to me. "you can imagine my shock when i saw her lyingin a box next to a baby. "clearly her mothering instincts had takenover and she wanted to protect the child. "he was well-dressed with a little hat andwhoever left him here had even left a few nappies and some baby food." the baby boy was taken by ambulance to hospitalwhere he was given a check up and declared fit and healthy. a hospital spokesman said: "the baby had onlybeen outside for a few hours and thanks to
masha and the child’s clothing he was notdamaged by the experience." now residents in the area have hailed mashaa hero. irina said: "everyone in the block is veryproud of her and we have all spoilt her rotten by giving her her favourite food." a police spokesman said officers were lookinginto the case and had launched a search for the baby’s mother.