"But then she told me about this Web page" - which Meyer couldn't see because of the department's computer filters. Nonetheless, she shipped a quick email to Cunniff:

"Mr. Cunniff, you're famous."

She had no idea.

***

But enough about Cunniff (right about now, he wishes everybody would say that).

What about the kitten?

Once the photo went viral, kitten queries started coming in to the Missoulian from around the country.

A quick recap: One cat and two kittens were already dead when Cunniff's unit arrived at the burning house on Vine Street, and the striped gray kitten was clearly in distress, he said.

"I held his airway open and gave him some oxygen," which is when Bauer snapped the photo. Then Cunniff handed the kitten off to an ambulance crew and got back to work.

"It was just another day on the job," he said.

The ambulance crew continued with the oxygen, and then took the gray kitten and another they found to Pruyn Veterinary Hospital. The second kitten died en route.