--- title: Cat Rescued From Rubble Caused By Italian Earthquake description: A cat named Pietro has been rescued from rubble 15 days after an earthquake hit central Italy, causing the death of 292 people canonical: https://time.com/4485310/cat-rescued-after-two-weeks-trapped-in-rubble-from-italian-earthquake/ author: Kate Samuelson article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-09-09T14:53:21.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-03-31T10:09:04.067Z article:section: World og:title: Cat Rescued From Rubble Caused By Italian Earthquake og:description: Firefighters heard a faint meowing sound coming from the rubble in Amatrice og:url: https://time.com/4485310/cat-rescued-after-two-weeks-trapped-in-rubble-from-italian-earthquake/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt405a9ae4fc264a5a/6988a55b2dce0163fc9ea982/italy-earthquake-cats.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: A general view after earthquake that levelled the town in Amatrice og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Cat Rescued From Rubble Caused By Italian Earthquake twitter:description: Firefighters heard a faint meowing sound coming from the rubble in Amatrice twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt405a9ae4fc264a5a/6988a55b2dce0163fc9ea982/italy-earthquake-cats.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Cat Rescued After Two Weeks Trapped in Rubble From Italian Earthquake by [Kate Samuelson](/author/kate-samuelson/) ## Kate Samuelson Sep 9, 2016 2:53 PM CUT  A general view after earthquake that levelled the town in Amatrice, central Italy, Sept. 1, 2016. A general view after earthquake that levelled the town in Amatrice, central Italy, Sept. 1, 2016.Stefano Rellandini—Reuters by [Kate Samuelson](/author/kate-samuelson/) ## Kate Samuelson Sep 9, 2016 2:53 PM CUT A cat named Pietro has been rescued from rubble 15 days after an [earthquake hit central Italy](http://time.com/4464060/earthquake-central-italy-apennine-region-amatrice-accumuli/ "undefined"), causing the [death of 292 people](http://time.com/4466036/help-earthquake-italy-victims/ "undefined") and demolishing several small towns in the region. Firefighters heard a faint meowing sound coming from the rubble in Amatrice, a beauty spot and popular holiday destination which was particularly affected by the quake. After spending time sifting through the rubble, they eventually uncovered the cat’s head and then, thanks to a team effort, successfully freed his trapped body. It is believed he survived by drinking rainwater. > [](https://twitter.com/emergenzavvf/status/773860531216277505) _The Associated Press_ reports that Pietro was taken to a veterinarian in the city of Rieti diagnosed with dehydration and suffering from a fractured jaw. Just one day before, another cat was rescued from rubble in the Italian town of Accumuli – 14 days after the disaster struck. > [](https://twitter.com/emergenzavvf/status/774213662974312448) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4485310/cat-rescued-after-two-weeks-trapped-in-rubble-from-italian-earthquake/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4485310/cat-rescued-after-two-weeks-trapped-in-rubble-from-italian-earthquake/"},"headline":"Cat Rescued After Two Weeks Trapped in Rubble From Italian Earthquake","datePublished":"2016-09-09T14:53:21.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-31T10:09:04.067Z","description":"It is believed he survived by drinking rainwater","url":"https://time.com/4485310/cat-rescued-after-two-weeks-trapped-in-rubble-from-italian-earthquake/","keywords":["Italy"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt405a9ae4fc264a5a/6988a55b2dce0163fc9ea982/italy-earthquake-cats.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Kate Samuelson","jobTitle":"","url":"https://time.com/author/kate-samuelson/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt405a9ae4fc264a5a/6988a55b2dce0163fc9ea982/italy-earthquake-cats.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"A general view after earthquake that levelled the town in Amatrice","caption":"A general view after earthquake that levelled the town in Amatrice, central Italy, Sept. 1, 2016","creditText":"Stefano Rellandini—Reuters","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4485310/cat-rescued-after-two-weeks-trapped-in-rubble-from-italian-earthquake/","name":"Cat Rescued After Two Weeks Trapped in Rubble From Italian Earthquake"}}]}] ```