An abandoned newborn baby was saved from freezing to death by the unlikeliest of hero - a stray cat.

The tabby named Marsha climbed into the box the infant had been dumped in and kept the child warm for several hours as the mercury plunged below zero.

Residents in the block of flats found the unusual surrogate curled around the freezing boy and licking his face after being alerted by his cries.

Scroll down for video

Hero: Marsha the stray cat, pictured with local resident Irina Lavrova, has been hailed a hero after saving an abandoned baby from freezing to death in Russia

'The baby had only been outside for a few hours and thanks to Masha … he was not damaged by the experience,' a hospital spokesman told Central European News.

Nadezhda Makhovikova, who lives in the flats in Obninsk in the Kaluga region of Russia, told REN TV she ventured into the stairwell after hearing what sounded like a cat meowing in distress.

'When I went down, I saw it was the baby crying,' she said.

The cat was found curled around the baby boy for warmth after the infant was abandoned in the stairwell of a block of flats

Marsha the long-haired tabby followed paramedics to the ambulance as they took the baby boy to hospital

Mothering Marsha ran after paramedics as they took the tiny baby to the ambulance, it was reported.

Vera Ivanina, a paramedic, told REN TV: 'She was so worried about where we were taking the baby.

'She ran right behind us, meowing. She was really a rational creature.'

The baby, a boy aged between two to three months, was taken to hospital where he was checked over by medics.

The infant, who was found in clean clothes and with a pack of nappies, was declared fit and healthy, despite her hours in the cold.

Marsha has since been spoiled rotten with food by the residents in the block of flats.

Police have launched a search for the parents while the baby is being cared for in a hospital.