NY woman sees plea on Facebook to rescue a cat on an interstate guardrail and rushes to help

A cat frozen to a highway guardrail is recovering this weekend, thanks to an upstate New York woman who acted quickly about a Facebook post.

Elsa (screenshot from video)

Joyanna Lathrop came across a plea for help after someone spotted a ginger cat they thought to be sleeping and rushed to the scene near the I-81/690 interchange. Joyanna got in her vehicle and rushed to check on the cat.

It turns out the cat wasn’t sleeping. Two of her paws and her tail were frozen to the interstate guardrail. 13WTHR reported

https://www.facebook.com/KHQLocalNews/videos/1949710605139844/?v=1949710605139844

“Oh, she was so scared, and you could tell she was just so tired and so cold. She looked at me when I got out and was like, ‘Baby!’ And she was like, ‘Meoww.’ And it was just the saddest thing.

Joyanna with Elsa (screenshot)

I wrapped it up in a blanket that I had in my car. It just wanted to be held. Every time I tried putting it on the seat next to me, it crawled back on me, crying.”


Hot water and hot coffee failed to melt the ice. Joyanna was literally asking people passing by if they had any hot beverages she could use. It was her ice scraper that eventually allowed her to free the cat.

Now in the care of the New York, SPCA, ‘Elsa’ (named after the Frozen character) is recovering well. She’s not ready for adoption at this time but considering everything Elsa has gone through she’s lucky to be alive.

Thank you, Joyanna, for braving the cold and the ice and the traffic to rescue this one little cat. The world needs more people like you in it.

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