By Gabriella Payne
He may have only eight lives left, but one little kitten is lucky to be alive after being thrown from the window of a moving car and subsequently hit by oncoming traffic – escaping almost certain death.
Thanks to the kindness of a stranger passing by, the little kitty, who’s been named ‘Captain Courageous’ or ‘Captain’ for short, was delivered safe and sound to the Australian Animal Protection Society, where he quickly got checked over after his ordeal.
Sharon Gilbert, a receptionist who helped get Captain the care he needed, told the Star Journal of the horrifying story and the incredible kindness of the lady that saved him.
Ms Gilbert said that Captain’s saviour, a woman that wishes to remain anonymous, was being driven along Stud Road, Dandenong by her son on Wednesday 2 December when she witnessed the kitten being thrown onto the road.
“She saw this car window open and they threw the kitten out of the car and the kitten actually
fell and was hit by what we believe was the same car,” Ms Gilbert said.
“The poor lady screamed at her 21-year-old son to stop the car, which came to a screeching halt. She then jumped out and ran over to where she thought the kitten had run to,” she said.
After managing to find the lucky kitten and not noticing any major injuries, the rescuer took him back to the safety of her home, where she stayed up all night nursing the shaken cat, worried that something might be wrong and that he might have internal injuries.
“She kept it warm by letting it sleep under her t-shirt,” Ms Gilbert said, “and the next morning she called us and I actually took the call – and she was clearly very upset.”
Megan Seccull, the general manager at AAPS advised the woman to bring the kitten down for a check up, to make sure that he had not sustained any injuries during the incident.
Once there, Captain was quickly seen by the team of vets and after having a few x-rays and tests, was given the all clear – remarkably being in tip top shape.
Ms Gilbert said that ‘Captain Courageous’ had been given his name by the clinic staff, because of his bravery in the face of danger.
The eight-week old kitten is currently living with a foster mum, who has another kitten of a similar age to Captain, “so he’s got a little buddy to play with for the next couple of weeks until he’s adopted out,” Ms Gilbert said.
After his incredible story was shared by the AAPS on Facebook, Captain has received many offers of adoption, but will spend a bit more time with his foster family first, learning to socialise and returning to the vet to be desexed and vaccinated before going to his forever home.
Ms Gilbert said she had personally not heard of an incident like this occurring in the local area before, although she had “heard horror stories” of similar acts of cruelty and most commonly, kittens and puppies had been left in boxes on the side of the road to perish.
“It’s very, very sad, but fortunately for Captain, he found a beautiful saviour in this lady who’s just been wonderful. She did all the right things and got him to us as soon as she could,” Ms Gilbert said.
She added that as it is currently kitten season, the AAPS is extremely busy, with many stray and unwanted cats making their way to the clinic at the moment.
“We are getting a lot of stray cats and kittens in and I’m assuming that’s why they did what they did to Captain, because they didn’t want him,” Ms Gilbert said of the culprits.
She urged people not to commit acts of cruelty against animals, and said that the AAPS and other shelters are always open to unwanted animals and would rather they find loving, happy homes – just like Captain.
The team at the AAPS have organised a fundraising page for Captain, to help provide food and supplies for him and other kittens, and get him desexed, vaccinated and sent off to his new home.
To support the work of the AAPS and courageous little Captain, donations can be made at https://captaincourageous.raisely.com/
