Nanu
Representative image

Nanu, a cat, who was close to drowning in a pond in North Assam’s Tezpur, was rescued from a pond by Shruti Mishra, an Air Force official, on a rainy day.

And today she happily gorges on tuna, watches National Geographic on TV and “slaps” dogs.

Ready for a challenge? Click here to take our quiz and show off your knowledge!

She also happens to be one of the ten finalists of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) India’s Cutest Rescued Cat Alive contest, an Indian Express report said.

“I was on my way to work when I spotted Nanu. She was almost dead. Her lungs had filled up with water. Unfortunately not a single veterinary doctor who treats cats practises in Tezpur. I had to rush her almost 50km away to a military hospital in the nearby town of Misamari,” the digital edition of the newspaper quoted  Mishra, who heard about PETA’s contest from the same military vet who saved Nanu one year ago, as saying.

PETA’s annual online contest ‚ which started in 2014 is a bid to encourage people to adopt animas instead of buying them.

Ready for a challenge? Click here to take our quiz and show off your knowledge!

“We ask people to submit their rescue stories along with the cutest photograph of their rescued animal, via an online form. Countless cats are left to languish in animal shelters because there aren’t enough good homes for them,” says a PETA spokesperson.

The ten “finalist cats”, hailing from different states from across the country, were selected among “hundreds of entries” on the basis of how “inspirational and motivating the submitted rescue story was.”

The public can now vote for their favourite cat — and the winners will be announced on July 30, on the basis of vote count. PETA also has a similar contest for rescued dogs.

“Nanu is a lucky cat, indeed, and he has returned the favour of being rescued by bringing much love and joy into his guardian’s life,” says PETA India CEO Dr Manilal Valliyate. “All rescued cats are already winners because their lives were saved by people who love them for who they are,” she said.

“She gives me a ‘meow’ call at 4 am every day,” she says, “and that itself is my daily prize.”