Cat survives 12-story fall from Minneapolis balcony

MINNEAPOLIS — A Minneapolis cat's nine lives were put to the test after a terrifying, 12-story fall.

Rue, a 1-year-old tabby, somehow survived falling from a balcony to the pavement below, Home for Life Animal Sanctuary in Stillwater said.

The cat broke two legs, a foot and both sides of her jaw. A human dentist is helping her out with a procedure to bond her upper and lower canine teeth, which will hold her jaw in place, allowing it to heal.

"Rue is a courageous and resilient cat who is still trying to eat canned food, even with her damaged mouth, and even trying to groom herself despite her legs being in casts," Home for Life said.

Minneapolis Animal Care and Control said there is no ongoing investigation into Rue's fall and it has "no reason to believe it was a criminal act."

Rue isn't the only inspiring feline survival story to come out of Minnesota this year. Hercules, one of dozens of cats rescued from a car at a Chisago County rest stop in 2022, earned his first modeling gig with Target. The cat survived a maggot infestation and a severe jaw fracture, the latter of which causes his tongue to hang out, which caught the eye of an animal talent agency.