12 Saves of Christmas – Guardrail – FieldHaven’s Heartwarming Save #4

By Joy Smith, executive director

12 Saves of Christmas – FieldHaven’s Heartwarming Save #4: Guardrail

Each day, we will share one of FieldHaven’s 12 most heartwarming cat saves of 2020. Each happy story was made possible through your generosity!

When Jeanie (a FieldHaven staffer) hears the message alert ding on her phone, she always checks it right away. There appeared a photo of a guardrail on the freeway. She had to zoom in to see the orange cat hunkered down on the center guardrail beside a concrete support.

She texted back to the sender: “Oh no! When did you get this photo? And where is it?”

Ding, the message came back: “About 40 minutes ago. Feather River Blvd just north of the exit, northbound. The cat might still be there.”

Not a moment was lost – Jeanie grabbed her cat rescue gear (net, carrier, gloves, etc.) and rushed out the door, texting for back-up: “911 cat on a freeway guardrail!” FieldHaven volunteer Jan answered the call. Jeanie and Jan arrived at the same time. Donning their orange jackets, masks and toting rescue gear, they made their way to the freeway divider.

They walked up and down the freeway for about a quarter-mile using the photo as reference. They saw nothing, and no kitty. But they took hope from the fact that there were no signs of a cat having been hit by a car either!

As Jeanie pull back into FieldHaven’s Hathaway Cat Resource Center, she received another message; “The kitty that was on the freeway! My friend had him at Moonshiner’s Bar! BUT, they let the cat go, thinking it is safe, and the cat ran up into the underside of a truck!”

It was nearly dark as Jeanie headed to Moonshiner’s to meet Sammie and Francisco, the rescuers. A seasoned rescuer, Jeanie got people to stand around the truck as spotters while she slowly crawled under looking for the cat. Nothing there.

Knowing cats can fit themselves into the smallest spots and stay frozen there, Jeanie had them open the truck’s hood. Using flashlights, they methodically searched.

There she was! She was hunkered down in a corner, frightened and cold. Jeanie knew she needed to move quickly before the cat bolted again. With gloves on, she carefully reached in and gently worked the hissy cat out of her tight hiding place and put her into a carrier.

As Jeanie placed the carrier into her car to head back to FieldHaven, Francisco asked, “You won’t kill her, will you?”

Jeanie replied, “Definitely not! We are FieldHaven and we save cats. That is what we do.”

The kitty dubbed “Guardrail” was dirty, frightened, and in serious danger. She got the TLC she needed at FieldHaven – and she’s scheduled to be spayed today and will be available for adoption soon!

FieldHaven’s rescue work is made possibly by your generous donations. We thank you from the bottom of our hearts, and so does Guardrail.

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