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joeybee12

(56,177 posts) Tue Mar 4, 2014, 06:27 PM Mar 2014

I Was Supposed to Cover the Westminster Dog Show, But I Rescued a Kitten Instead

It was a normal Sunday, my partner and I had been running some errands and stepped out of the subway to more snow falling. I like the snow, but even I've had enough of this weather. As we were walking home we saw a tiny black blur of fluff dart out of a snow bank and under a parked car. Our Brooklyn neighborhood is unfortunately home to numerous stray cats. Some of our neighbors have tried becoming active in feral cat trap/release programs, the managers at the bodegas on both corners feed the cats, and regular litters of kittens scurry away into alleys. As heartbreaking as it is, we've become a little desensitized to darting cats over the years.

But there was something about this kitten -- he was too small, and it was too cold outside.

I handed my partner my shopping bag and dug into my coat pocket for a handful of dog treats. I crouched down on the icy, snowy street and started tossing treats under a parked car in the direction of the kitten. He was so small and clearly hungry as he scarfed down each treat. Slowly I started putting the treats closer and closer, and much to my surprise the kitten followed them.

The scariest part was each time I moved, the kitten would scurry away further under the car or worse out on the sidewalk, through a fence, and then back over the ice under the car. It was a terrifying loop that I was afraid would end with him running into traffic and being hit. After about 10 minutes a man from the bodega across the street yelled, "You want that cat?"