The world learned about Scarlett’s maternal feat back in 1996. This cat would have continued to live her calm and familiar life in one of the garages in Brooklyn until someone set that old garage on fire on the night of March 30th.

The firefighters who promptly responded to the call noticed that a cat repeatedly ran into and out of the burning building—each time carrying a month-old kitten in her mouth. Moreover, the kamikaze cat didn’t surrender to the hands; she kept rushing into the fire again and again after delivering another baby to a safe place.

This is what Scarlett looked like immediately after the fire, at the beginning of the treatment.

The New York Post featured an extensive report on this event in its pages, which sparked a widespread fundraising campaign for the treatment of the heroic mother. By the way, the kittens were quickly adopted. After all the medical procedures, Scarlett was taken home by a woman named Karen Wellen, who said in an interview with representatives of the Animal Defense League that she would take care of her as her own child.

And she kept her word – the cat lived with the woman for another 13 years, no longer knowing any cares or dangers, only twitching occasionally in her sleep from past experiences. And according to the results of reader polls, Scarlett was recognized as the ‘Cat of the Century.