Goldie the cat recovering after 3-story jump from burning building in Midtown
MIDTOWN, Manhattan (WABC) -- It was a moment of terror for onlookers as Goldie the cat dropped three stories from a fiery building on 43rd Street as a firefighter tried to rescue him.
But the ginger cat managed to land on its feet and was soon in the safe hands of a firefighter.
"When I saw the video, my stomach dropped because it actually seems like it takes forever for the guy to hit the ground," said cat rescuer Tiff Winton.
Winton is an independent cat rescuer and she was just a couple of blocks away when she heard about the fire and the cat. When she got there, she found the owner clutching Goldie in his arms.
"He's a super sweet guy, the owner, and he loves this cat," Winton said. "He referred to the cat as his son. He's had it since it was a tiny kitten."
Winton said that he was tearful when he asked for help.
"And we were really lucky that he trusted us," she said. "He didn't know us and he trusted us to take his cat."
Winton teamed up with a small nonprofit called the Animal Project NYC and they rushed to get Goldie help.
Call it luck or the use of one of his nine lives, but he escaped without any major injuries.
He's now recovering with a foster caregiver after undergoing surgery for a split lip, but he's expected to be reunited with his owner in the next couple of weeks.
"He's heavily sedated because he's in pain and because of his lip, but he's cozy and he slept and he ate dinner and he's going to be fine in the end," Winton said.
Winton set up a fundraiser on behalf of the Animal Project NYC to help not only with Goldie's medical expenses, but things like medication, food, litter -- all things to help his owner continue to give his furry family member a good life.
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