Cat rescued from ruins of Venezuela quake offers 'ray of hope'

A volunteer rescuer holds a cat after pulling it out from under the rubble of a building in Venezuela. [Juan Barreto, AFP]

A weakened cat was pulled from under the rubble of a collapsed residential complex in Venezuela on Saturday in what a rescuer described as a "ray of hope" in the aftermath of deadly earthquakes.

More than 5,100 people were killed when back-to-back quakes struck the South American nation on June 24, with the coastal state of La Guaira hit hardest.

Volunteer rescue worker Andres Carvajal said he spotted the cat during a search in a La Guaira housing complex that had been reduced to rubble.

"We saw the cat, it got scared and went back inside, deeper into the building," Carvajal told AFP. It was unclear when it had become trapped.

"I went in, took off my glove, put some cat food on my arm... It gradually came closer and, of course, ate with a bit of desperation," the 21-year-old university student said.

Carvajal had written "el gato" -- "the cat" -- on his helmet, which he said had been his nickname since elementary school.

He and other students from the Central University of Venezuela, in Caracas, formed an association to help with rescue operations.

Once rescued, the cat was handed over to a small camp where vets were on standby. It was given fluids and cleaned before being sent to a shelter.

"I'm very happy we found it," Carvajal said.

"It's impossible not to feel empathy for any life that's here. And finding this little cat is obviously a ray of light, a ray of hope."