The cat rescued from Bennett’s Creek on Christmas Day still is searching for her owner.

The female cat is between 5 and 7 years old and has an upper respiratory infection, a veterinarian said. She has been dubbed “Noel” by the family caring for her.

“She is very docile and sweet,” said Donna Pass-Otteni, whose husband rescued the cat from under the family’s pier on Christmas afternoon. “We wish she could talk to tell us how she ended up in the river and where she came from.”

Neighbor Robert Holt first noticed the cat on his neighbor’s pier when he and his daughter were in the backyard. By the time he got to the pier, his neighbors had already rescued the cat.

“It was amazing,” Pass-Otteni said. “When my husband scooped her out of the river, I thought she was dead.”

The Ottenis took the cat inside, rinsed the mud off with warm water and wrapped the cat in layers of towels and a heating blanket.

“I rested her head in my hand,” Pass-Otteni said. “She just laid there and let me rinse her off.”

Fortunately, the family had just bought a case of food for their own cat, so they had plenty of food on hand to feed Noel.

The Ottenis took Noel to their veterinarian, who determined Noel does not have a microchip.

“We’d like to find out who her owner is,” Pass-Otteni said. “It’s obvious she’s had an owner, because she’s litter trained and she knew what the vet was all about. She didn’t enjoy that.”

Noel now is on antibiotics to cure her upper respiratory infection, which likely came from the mud and water inhaled in the creek, Pass-Otteni said.

The family will not be able to keep Noel because their own cat doesn’t like her, she said. But they do hope to return Noel to her own home or find a good home for her.

“We’d really like if somebody wants to give her a good home,” Pass-Otteni said. “We want to find her owner or somebody that’s interested in her.”

If you recognize Noel, call the Ottenis at 617-2415 or Holt at 272-6368.