Scarlett was a former feral cat from Brooklyn, New York. The North Shore Animal League has formed an award named the Scarlett Award for Animal Heroism, in Scarlett's honor. This award is presented to animals that have engaged in heroic acts to benefit others, whether humans or animals.
On March 30, 1996, Scarlett and her five kittens were in an abandoned
garage allegedly used as a crack house in Brooklyn when a fire started
for undetermined reasons. The fire department responded to a call about
the fire and quickly extinguished it. When the fire was under control,
one of the firefighters on the scene noticed Scarlett carrying her
kittens away from the garage one by one. Scarlett herself had been
severely burned in the process of pulling her kittens from the fire. Her
eyes were blistered shut, her ears and paws burned, and her coat highly
singed. The majority of her facial hair was found to be burnt away.
After saving the kittens she was seen to touch each of her kittens with
her nose to ensure they were all there and alive, as the blisters on her
eyes kept her from being able to see them, and then she collapsed
unconscious.
Scarlett died on October 11, 2008,[2] while with her adoptive family in
Brooklyn. She required ongoing care as a result of her injuries.