At 3 a.m. on a quiet September night in Aurora, Illinois, the only sounds around a small gas station were the hum of fluorescent lights — and a faint, desperate cry.
A customer who’d stopped by to fill up on gas paused, listening. The sound was coming from behind the massive ice machine outside. Something — or someone — was trapped.
Not knowing what else to do, the passerby called the Aurora Police Department. Within minutes, officers arrived, flashlights cutting through the dark as they followed the tiny cries for help.
When they peered behind the ice machine, they finally saw him — a shivering, months-old kitten wedged in the narrow space between the wall and the heavy freezer. He was cold, frightened, and calling out with all the strength his little body had left.
There was only one problem: the officers couldn’t reach him.
To move the ice machine, they’d have to empty it first.
And that meant moving over 1,000 pounds of ice — by hand.
Undeterred, the officers got to work. They shoveled, lifted, and tossed bag after bag of frozen ice onto the parking lot, their breath visible in the cold air, fingers slowly going numb.
“It went quicker than we thought it would!” a department representative later told The Dodo, laughing.
Once the ice was finally out, the officers grabbed a dolly and carefully scooted the massive freezer away from the wall. The little kitten froze, staring at them with wide eyes.
“Surprisingly, the cat stayed right there and didn't try to run away,” the representative said. “I reached in and was able to pull him right out. I was certainly glad he was okay!”
Wrapped safely in warm hands, the kitten was whisked to Aurora Animal Care & Control, where the staff affectionately named him Cadence — a fitting name for a rescue that took perfect teamwork and timing.
At the shelter, Cadence received vaccinations, a full checkup, and a much-needed meal. For the first time in who knows how long, he could finally rest.
“[He’s] doing well,” the representative said. “Hopefully all this attention has brought someone who would like to adopt him.”
From a gas station freezer at 3 a.m. to a cozy shelter bed — Cadence’s story is proof that even the smallest cries for help can move mountains. Or, in this case, more than half a ton of ice.
