Last month, a Phoenix, Arizona, driver spotted a tiny kitten lying motionless on the side of a freeway transition ramp. Fearing the worst, the driver called the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) for help.
Two ADOT incident response members, Travis Benthin and Derik Woitaszewski, were sent to investigate. When they arrived, they were relieved to find the kitten alive and moving — but their relief quickly turned to worry when they saw where she’d gone. While they were on their way, the kitten had climbed up onto the narrow ledge of the ramp — nearly 100 feet above a busy highway.
Knowing one wrong move could frighten her into falling, Benthin approached slowly. But the terrified kitten hissed at him, startled by his bright reflective jacket. Thinking quickly, he turned his raincoat inside out to make himself look less intimidating.
“The kitten was fearful and hissed at Travis as he moved closer, so he turned his raincoat inside out so she wouldn’t be scared by the bright, shiny colors,” said Julian Lopez, ADOT public information officer.
Even so, the little cat was clearly distressed. As Benthin reached for her, she almost jumped 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.”
Safely in Benthin’s arms, the kitten was placed into a carrier — and for the first time, her rescuers could really see her.
“It was a gorgeous cat,” Benthin said.
Benthin and Woitaszewski brought the kitten to Heidi’s Village, a local animal rescue. There, she received medical care, rest, and a new name in honor of her dramatic rescue — ADOT.
“We are so grateful to the ADOT heroes for getting her to safety,” Heidi’s Village wrote on Facebook.
Now around nine weeks old, ADOT has recovered beautifully.
“The nursery team was raving about how sweet she has become,” said Lori Wahl, development director at Heidi’s Village.
Soon, this once-frightened kitten will be ready for adoption — and the terrifying day she spent perched high above the freeway will be just a distant memory.