Lucky Tortie

If cats have nine lives, a kitty in Missoula, Montana has definitely used one up.

This housecat survived being locked in a cage, thrown off a bridge and then stranded in an icy puddle of river slush. It's unlcear how long the cat was stuck on the ice, but the ordeal ended Tuesday morning when a pair of passers-by spotted the tortie and called for help. Firefighters arrived minutes later, donned wet suits and launched a rescue boat.

Someone had put the animal in a cage, along with a rock weighing about 16 pounds, and tossed it into the Clark Fork River. But instead of landing in the water, it bounced several times on the ice and then became stuck.

Read about Lucky, who bears an uncanny resemblance to my tortie, Kinky, here . The article has a heartwarming end.