Nearly frozen kitten rescued from Canadian blizzard

March 9 (UPI) -- A pair of Royal Canadian Mounted Police officers helped rescue a nearly frozen kitten from a raging blizzard.

Prairie Animal Health Center in Weyburn shared a photo of RCMP Cpr. Sean Chiddenton and the small orange kitten he and fellow officer Cst. Ryan Oram rescued from the freezing highway.

"I thought it was a chunk of ice that had fallen off a semi at first, but then thought it looked it an animal," Chiddenton told Global News.

The officers attempted to swerve out of the way of the falling debris, before pulling over to find the snow-covered kitten.

"He backed up and the partially-frozen lump stood up and started walking towards him," Chiddenton said. "The wet blowing snow stuck to him right away. He wasn't moving very much, but was meowing non-stop."

Chiddenton and Oram believed the kitten had been hiding inside another vehicle, before winding up underneath their truck, to stay out of the harsh cold.

The pair brought the 5-month-old kitten to Prairie Animal Center where veterinarians said it was nearly "pretty much frozen solid" before receiving several warm baths.

The kitten, who was given the name Ambrose, may need to have its tail amputated due to frostbite but Chiddenton was just happy it survived.

"We were happy to hear that the cat actually made it. Everyone was in love with it," he said.