Last month in Phoenix, Arizona, a passing driver noticed what looked like a small white speck on the side of a freeway transition ramp. When they realized it was actually a tiny kitten sitting dangerously close to traffic, they immediately called the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) for help.
Two members of ADOT’s incident response unit, Travis Benthin and Derik Woitaszewski, were dispatched to check on the report. When they arrived, they were relieved to see the kitten was alive and moving — but their concern quickly deepened.
In the time it took them to reach the scene, the frightened kitten had climbed onto a narrow ledge nearly 100 feet above the busy highway below.
The rescuers knew they had to move slowly. One wrong step could send the kitten bolting — or worse, falling.
Benthin carefully approached, but the kitten was terrified and hissed at him. Realizing his bright, reflective safety jacket might be making things worse, he improvised.
“The kitten was fearful and hissed at Travis as he moved closer, so he turned his raincoat inside out so the kitten would not be scared by the bright and shiny colors of the high-visibility safety jacket,” ADOT public information officer Julian Lopez told The Dodo.
Even with the adjustment, the kitten remained panicked. As Benthin reached out, she suddenly tried to leap off the ledge.
“It hissed at me, and I reached out with my left hand and put my right arm around it,” Benthin said in an ADOT Facebook post. “It started to jump off, and I was able to grab it.”
Within seconds, the tiny fluffball was safely secured and placed into a carrier. Only then did the rescuers get a proper look at her — and instantly fell in love.
“She was a gorgeous cat,” Benthin said.
Benthin and Woitaszewski transported the kitten to Heidi’s Village, a local rescue, where she began decompressing and receiving medical care.
“We are so grateful to the ADOT heroes for getting her to safety with us,” Heidi’s Village wrote on Facebook. “In honor of her rescue story, we have named her ADOT.”
Since arriving at the shelter, ADOT has slowly relaxed and started to show her true personality.
“The nursery team was raving about how sweet she has become,” Lori Wahl, development director at Heidi’s Village, told The Dodo.
Now 9 weeks old, ADOT will be available for adoption next week. Before long, her terrifying moment on a highway ledge will be nothing more than a distant memory — replaced by the comfort and safety of a forever home.
If you’d like to help animals like ADOT, you can support Heidi’s Village through a donation.
