A Baby Was Left in a Box During Winter, a Stray Cat Kept Him Warm

On January 10, 2015, a woman in Obninsk, Russia, heard what sounded like a cat crying somewhere downstairs in her apartment building. Nadezhda Makhovikova went to investigate, thinking one of the neighborhood cats might be hurt.

Instead, she discovered a baby boy, barely two months old, who had been left in the building’s cold entrance hall. And right there with him was Masha, a fluffy tabby cat who was about to become famous around the world.

A Baby in Masha’s Cardboard Box

Masha had been living around the apartment building for several years. She didn’t officially belong to anyone, but the residents had adopted her in their own way. Several families fed her, let her visit their apartments, and made sure she always had something to eat.

Her usual sleeping spot was a cardboard box in the hallway. It gave her somewhere to curl up between visits to her human neighbors, although it wasn’t exactly a luxurious place to spend a Russian winter.

That January evening, someone had left a baby in the same area. The little boy was wearing warm clothes and a hat, and whoever had brought him there had also left diapers, bottles, and baby food. But temperatures outside were below freezing, and the building’s entrance was no place for an infant to spend the night.

When Makhovikova heard the crying, she hurried downstairs. She found the child and immediately called for medical help.

Masha Wouldn’t Leave the Baby Alone

According to the accounts that first brought the story international attention, Masha had climbed into the box and curled up beside the infant. Residents believed she had been sharing her body heat with him for several hours, helping protect him from the cold.

People who knew Masha described her as an unusually friendly cat. She was comfortable around people, regularly wandered into their homes, and seemed perfectly happy being everyone’s unofficial pet.

Now she had taken an interest in the smallest person in the building. The story took another turn when the ambulance arrived. As paramedics picked up the baby and carried him outside, Masha followed them, meowing and staying close.

Paramedic Vera Ivanina later told Russian television that the cat appeared worried about where they were taking the child. Masha kept following as the medical team approached the ambulance, and witnesses said she remained outside after the vehicle drove away.

Whatever Masha thought was happening, she clearly wasn’t ready to end her involvement simply because the humans had arrived.

Doctors Had Some Very Good News

At the hospital, doctors examined the baby and found him in surprisingly good condition. He was clean, well fed, and showed no obvious injuries from his time in the chilly entrance hall.

Medical staff estimated that he was around two to three months old. Although nobody knew exactly how long he had been there, the fact that someone had discovered him before he suffered serious harm was an enormous relief.

Police began searching for the child’s parents and investigating how he had ended up alone in the building. Meanwhile, he remained in hospital care while officials worked out what would happen to him next.

The staff gave him a name: Vanya, a familiar Russian form of Ivan. It meant the little boy now had something more personal than the description everyone had been using for him in the news.

Nearly a Hundred Families Wanted to Adopt Him

By the middle of January, Masha’s story had traveled far beyond Obninsk. Newspapers and television stations across Europe, North America, and other parts of the world were reporting on the cat and the abandoned baby.

That publicity brought an unexpected development. Families began contacting local child-welfare officials to ask whether they could adopt the little boy.

According to Russian reporting at the time, around a hundred families expressed interest. Calls came from different parts of Russia, and some inquiries arrived from other countries, including Israel and Hungary.

Officials had to work through the legal process and choose a suitable family. By mid-February, they had selected a couple from Obninsk itself.

The prospective parents completed the required paperwork and preparation, including classes intended to help families getting ready to adopt. Child-welfare workers also assessed their ability to give Vanya a safe and stable home.

On March 4, 2015, Russian journalist Alexandra Krylova reported that Vanya had already been living with his new parents for two weeks. Natalia Zinchenko, an Obninsk child-welfare official, confirmed the adoption and described his new parents as a young couple.

Their identities were kept private. After weeks in hospital care, Vanya finally had a family waiting for him at home.

Masha Became a Celebrity, Too

Back at the apartment building, Masha was enjoying a rather different kind of attention. Residents who had always fed her began giving her extra treats, and people from outside the neighborhood wanted to meet the famous cat.

Even Yuri Kuklachev, a well-known Russian performer who founded a theater featuring trained cats, expressed interest in taking her. But the residents weren’t particularly enthusiastic about giving away an animal they already considered part of their neighborhood.

Masha had spent years moving between their apartments, accepting food and attention, and deciding for herself where she wanted to spend her time. Her sudden fame hadn’t changed how they felt about her.

People also began visiting from other parts of the city to ask whether they could take Masha home. The neighbors decided to look after her themselves.

In the same March report that confirmed Vanya’s adoption, residents shared one more piece of happy news: they had found Masha a warm place to stay, too.