A Parkdale fire victim has been reunited with the cat that possibly helped save both his life and the lives of others.

Domina went missing after an early Wednesday fire at 113 Spencer Avenue, which is near King and Dufferin Streets. But by Wednesday night, firefighters had found the black feline not far from the scene of the $700,000 blaze.

"I feel great. This cat has given me a lot of joy and even the tenants in the house love her, so I feel great," Rob Smits told reporters on Thursday as he cuddled Domina at the Toronto animal services facility on the CNE grounds.

"Other than losing everything that I lost, this was the main thing. Possessions can be repaired. This kind of bond can't be."

Smits said he had been searching for his four-legged friend and saviour in the hours after the fire.

Smits told CTV Toronto that the cat literally jumped on his head about 4 a.m. to alert him that smoke had started to fill his room.

Had that not happened, he might have continued to sleep and might have died, he said.

The fire had started in the next-door semi-detached home and had started to come through the walls, he said.

Four others had to flee the fire.

Police and the Fire Marshal's Office are investigating the blaze, which started in a vacant unit.

With a report from CTV Toronto's Dana Levenson