Faith the cat was one of the most remarkable mother cats we’ve ever read about. She lived in London during the late 1930s, and her story really puts into perspective how incredible cats really are.
This story takes place at St Augustine’s Church in London, England. During the late 1930s, the priest at the church, Father Henry Ross, noticed a cat kept sneaking into the church day after day. After much consideration, Father Ross decided it was a good idea to adopt the homeless cat, whom he later named Faith. Faith routinely attended the church services, often sitting right on Father Ross’s feet as he preached.
After living in the church for four years, Faith gave birth to a single kitten. Shortly after giving birth to the kitten, Father Ross noticed Faith’s sudden fascination with the church basement. One day Faith even decided to carry her kitten into a small corner in the basement. Father Ross became concerned for the kitten’s health because the basement was quite dirty, so he decided to move the kitten back to its basket in the church. Faith followed Father Ross all the way upstairs, protesting loudly to his moving of the kitten, and as soon as he placed the kitten back in its basket, Faith had taken the kitten out of the basket and headed back downstairs. These events recurred several times before Father Ross decided to give in, and move the kitten’s basket to the basement.
September 7, 1940, the Germans began their Blitz on London – the day after Faith had taken her kitten down to the church basement. 400 people died during these bombings, and the church was in flames when Father Ross returned the next day. Despite warnings that the church’s roof was about to collapse, Father Ross struggled his way to the basement where he had last seen Faith and her kitten. To his amazement, Faith was huddled over her kitten protecting it from the disaster above. Father Ross retrieved the cats and brought them out of the church. Shortly after this rescue, the church’s roof collapsed.
5 years after the bombing, when World War II had ended, Faith was given the Silver Dicken Medal. This medal was created specifically for Faith for her courage to protect her kitten from the disaster in September 1940.
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