The miracle cat who survived a brutal Brooklyn arson attack was reunited with his owner yesterday – a 5-year-old boy who never gave up hope that “Baby” would be found alive.
“I love you, Baby!” gushed Mekhi Dowman as he pulled his constant companion and best friend out of a temporary cage at the ASPCA. “I knew nothing happened to my Baby.”
Dowman and his mom lost their home in the Feb. 24 blaze that killed two women and two children in the apartment next to theirs at 1033 Pacific St.
And for the past month the family thought they’d also lost their favorite cat, a plump orange tabby with big green eyes.
“We thought he was dead, but Mekhi kept saying he’s OK,” said grandma Edwina King. “He said ‘No, he’s not dead; he got out.’ ”
A fire marshal found the cat on a staircase and called Animal Care and Control, a nonprofit agency that runs the city’s shelter system.
There, workers patched up his singed back fur and transferred him to the ASPCA in Manhattan. With Red Cross help, ASPCA officials spread word to former tenants of the Pacific Street building that the puss they dubbed “Marmalade” was alive and well.
King, who is putting up Mekhi and his mom in Crown Heights while they look for a new place to live, kept the news as a surprise until she and her adorable grandson arrived at the shelter yesterday.
But as soon as the little boy saw the cages full of animals, he guessed at the truth. “He said ‘Are we getting Baby? I told you he was alive,’ ” King smiled.
Reunited with his family at long last, the mellow 3-year-old cat lay contentedly in Mekhi’s arms, then stretched out for a good belly scratching.
At home, he’ll be greeted like a lost son, with a bath and blow-dry session, and a selection of his favorite balls and strings to play with, King said. He’ll also be greeted by his mom, Irsis.
And Baby will return to his old routine of curling up with Mekhi to watch “Batman,” following the boy around the house and climbing up the backs of chairs.
“I’ll pet him and then we’ll play with a ball,” said the beaming little boy. “And when he gets hungry, I’ll give him what he likes to eat – cat food. Nice, tasty cat food!
“I missed my Baby!”