Beirut, Lebanon/Ringoes, New Jersey - In honor of International Cat Day, we're looking at the heroic story of a stray mama cat who threw herself into the fray to protect her babies.

A mama cat named Alessia already had a tough life living on the streets, when her toughest test was yet to come.

The animal had just become a mother as a stray in Beirut, Lebanon, when she suffered a "brutal dog attack while protecting her newborn litter of kittens," according to a Facebook post by the Monmouth County Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA).

Fortunately, the male dog was leashed. Nevertheless, it managed to bite the cat several times, leaving her with wounds and gashes.

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Nina Lucow, the feline adoption manager at Monmouth County SPCA where Alessia ended up, told Newsweek, "The dog appeared to have had a high prey drive and when the dog saw Alessia, that prey drive kicked in,"

The three-year-old cat bravely fought to protect her kittens. The animal rescue organization recently released gruesome photos showing the cat being pulled away by the dog, covered in blood.

In the end, the stray not only protected her kittens, but herself - giving them all a better life in the US.

A veterinarian working with the rescue organization Animals Lebanon not only treated Alessia's injuries, but also arranged for her and her offspring to be transferred to the US.

Although the Monmouth County SPCA shelter in New Jersey is usually overcrowded, they happened to have room just when Alessia and her kin needed help.

"Alessia’s babies all found homes, and now it’s her turn to live her best life," the shelter wrote.

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She's now searching for her own forever home. As she suffers from some anxiety after her fight with the dog, she needs a bit of patience and TLC from a new owner.

The same kind of TLC she showed through her protective spirit for her kittens.