The picture is odd to the say the least: a tuxedo cat in a blue harness with a long red leash attached stuck on a narrow concrete ledge 300 feet above water on a bridge. The lead is drapped over the edge and hangs vertically, being attached, as it is, to the cat. Very strange. The heavy implication of what we see is that a person lowered the cat down to the ledge and then released the lead. It is hard to see how the lead could have ended up being like this by other means. Any thoughts? Please leave a comment.
Clearly the owner of this cat was used to taking him out on a leash. But somehow owner and cat become disconnected and to this day the owner has not come forward to claim his/her cat despite this story being well covered on the internet.
This is Bay Bridge, San Francisco, USA. People in a building adjacent to the bridge noticed the cat on the ledge and he was clearly stuck and quite immobile.
“He was calm during the rescue and doesn’t seem rattled by the experience” – Deb Campbell, of SF ACC
Someone among the group of onlookers called San Francisco Animal Care & Control (SF ACC). They contacted California Highway Patrol and Caltrans, who help people who become stuck on the bridge. They stopped the traffic so that animal control officers could rescue the cat.
One officer took the leash while another placed a net over and to the side of the cat (I presume) and gently hauled him to safety. Throughout the cat remained calm and compliant.
I am sure the cat was calmer than those doing the rescue because, as mentioned, there was a 300 foot drop below from the cat’s position on a fairly slender ledge.
The cat behaved impeccably and is very friendly. He has been looking for cuddles all the time. It is a bit of a mystery how he got there.
You have to speculate and another possible reason is that the owner and his cat were out for a walk. Somehow the two become disconnected and the cat panicked and ended up on the bridge. But why on the bridge in that precarious position? And how did the leash remain in that position? It does not make sense at all.
We have no news on whether they have scanned for a microchip.
My thanks to The Dodo.
