Ashton Lemley, a storm chaser with a decade of experience under his belt, was sifting through the wreckage of a Mississippi trailer park. It was before dawn, pitch black, and the kind of quiet that only follows a disaster. Then, a tiny sound cut through the silence: a kitten's meow.
Just hours prior, a trio of tornadoes had ripped through southern Mississippi, leaving a dozen people injured in Bogue Chitto. Lemley, flashlight in hand, started searching. The meowing stopped. For a moment, he feared the worst.
Then, five minutes later, it started again. "Oh, he's still alive!" Lemley reportedly exclaimed, probably to the relief of anyone within earshot.
We're a new kind of news feed.
Regular news is designed to drain you. We're a non-profit built to restore you. Every story we publish is scored for impact, progress, and hope.
Start Your News DetoxHe dug through a collapsed wall, past layers of insulation, until his beam hit something small, wet, and utterly terrified, wedged between two wooden posts. It was the kitten. And naturally, he filmed it.
"Oh my goodness, I found him! Are you OK? Come here – it’s OK. … We’ll get you cleaned up, baby. Don’t you worry,” Lemley cooed, which is a fairly impressive pivot from "hardened storm chaser" to "kitten whisperer" in mere seconds.
After a few minutes of holding the tiny survivor, Lemley handed him over to the United Cajun Navy, a volunteer disaster relief group. They dried the little guy off and whisked him to safety. The kitten, miraculously, seemed completely unharmed — which, if you think about it, is both impressive and slightly terrifying for something so small.
Lemley, despite his heroics, won't be taking the kitten home. Turns out, he's allergic. But don't worry, the line of potential adopters is already forming, with some suggesting the very on-the-nose name, Tornado. Because apparently, that's where we are now.
