Grenfell Tower survivor reunited with pet cat two months after deadly blaze

A Grenfell Tower survivor has been reunited with her pet cat that she believed had died on the night of the fire that killed 80 people.

Kerry O’Hara, 53, escaped from her flat on the sixth floor of the tower at about 1.30am on 14 June, after discovering the blaze.

She said she was in “hysterical mode” as thick black smoke engulfed the 24-storey building in Kensington, London.

“I made a plan to put Rosey in her cat carrier and cover it with a wet towel, but that went out of the window,” she said.

In a video posted on Facebook, she described how her cat looked at her as she left.

“She didn’t have a clue what was going on,” she said. “I took one last look at her, thinking that was the last time I was ever going to see her again.”

O’Hara said she escaped down the pitch-black stairwell, screaming “help me! help me! I don’t want to die, please don’t let me die”.

She said that when she got down to the second floor a firefighter appeared and led her and her friend, Sharon, to safety.

“I looked over my shoulder [at the burning building] and it felt like I was in a dream,” she told the Guardian.

O’Hara, who, like other survivors, has been left traumatised by the blaze, said she repeatedly returned to the area in the weeks following the fire to ask about her pet.

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She put up ‘missing’ posters with a picture of the black and white cat, but eventually accepted that her beloved pet was gone.

That was until a resident in nearby Oxford Gardens found the frightened cat and took it to the vet. The pet’s microchip revealed the address: Flat 34, Grenfell Tower.

“I got a phone call from someone saying we think we’ve found your cat,” said O’Hara. “I was asking, is she OK, is she burnt? But she just had a scratch on her nose.

“She recognised me straight away. Now I don’t let her out of my sight.”

O’Hara, who is still living in temporary accommodation, added that she has been frustrated by Kensington and Chelsea council’s rehousing work since the tragedy.

“I don’t think the council has handled this well at all. I didn’t ask to be put in this situation,” she said.

“All I want is to settle down, but I just don’t know if it’s going to be days or weeks, or even after Christmas. It’s very stressful, and my depression has got worse.

“Before I go to sleep at night, I see images of what happened. I’ve been back to look at the building that was my home. I don’t think I’ll ever get over it.”

Kensington and Chelsea council said: “We have been working with all the families affected by the tragedy and they will only move in to properties they are happy with.”