Cat found alive an hour after boat sinks to lake bottom

Matthew Diebel | USA TODAY

Well, there's one life gone.

A cat that crawled aboard a boat that then sunk to the bottom of an Arizona lake is lucky to be alive after being underwater for at least an hour, according to local media.

The brown-and-white American shorthair, named "River" and later "Lucky" by animal shelter workers, was found in a front storage compartment after the boat was brought ashore from Lake Havasu, reported the News-Herald.

The feline drama started on Saturday when the boat, a high-power craft that had been transported from neighboring California, capsized after hitting some waves, according to the paper. It then filled with water and sank to the bottom.

A Mohave County search and rescue team responded quickly, according to the News-Herald, and contacted John Zucalla of Dive Time Recovery, to pull the boat to the shore.

Once it was on land, Zucalla told the paper, he took it to a mechanic to have the water flushed out. That was when they found the soggy cat.

"The cat was trapped, hungry, wet and scared," Zucalla said. "I've been doing this for 15 years, and I've never found a live animal on a sunken boat. She was down there for an hour – it's miraculous that she survived."

Zucalla speculated that the fortunate feline may have survived because of an air pocket.

"It was one of those old-style power boats, with a big compartment in the front end," Zucalla told the paper. "You pack your cooler and all of your supplies into the front end. The cat could have climbed in and gotten trapped there when (the owner) left from Orange County, California on Friday or Saturday. This is a miracle – that we were on the lake when the sheriff's department called us, and we found the wreck in time."

Thinking that the cat belonged to the boat's owner, Genaro Rudaldava, Zucalla broke the good news to him, the News-Herald reported.

One problem: Rudaldava doesn't own a cat.

"When she first came in, she was very scared," the Western Arizona Humane Society's Tasha Draper told the paper. "Now she's started to open up. She got very lucky."

Another employee, Brandi Engler, told USA TODAY on Wednesday that Lucky "had nine lives all in one trip. If he didn't find that air pocket he wouldn't be here today."

Lucky's owners, if there are any, have until Thursday morning to claim her or she will be put up for adoption, Patty Gillmore, executive director of the shelter, told USA TODAY.

"I spent time with her yesterday," Gillmore added, "and she's doing very well. She's a really nice cat."

Gillmore said there had already been interest expressed in Lucky. "A lady came in and said she would love to adopt her."

"She is a cat lover," Gillmore added, "who was really moved by Lucky's story of survival, and she is ready to give her a loving home.

"She surely is a very special cat and the Western Arizona Humane Society is proud to have her as our guest."