Joplin Cat Survives 16 Days Under Rubble

​A family's beloved pet is safe today after being pulled out of the debris of their tornado-damaged home yesterday in Joplin.

The 14-year-old Calico named Lavern had been missing since the May 22 twister leveled the town. Homeowner Terrla Cruse tells the Joplin Globe that she returned one last time to the wreckage of her family's home yesterday to look for some paperwork needed by FEMA. That's when she heard a faint meowing and began digging though rubble.

After the meowing went silent, it picked up again and soon Lavern's head emerged though a hole in the plaster. The cat was taken to the vet and diagnosed as dehydrated, but otherwise fine.