Officer William Pataky of the Yonkers Police Department arrived at an empty apartment as part of an ongoing investigation about an abandoned dog. But he was shocked to discover that the dog wasn’t the only animal who’d been neglected.
“When we were going up the stairs you could hear (the kitten) crying in the apartment,” he told The Journal News.”She came running down the hallway and she was rubbing her head on our legs… she wanted attention in the worst way.”
Pataky, who was conducting the investigation with the Westchester SPCA, thinks the kitten had been living in the apartment with no food, water, or heat for about five days. The cold November air had rushed through the broken windows, so the apartment was especially cold. They think that she may have eaten cockroaches for sustenance, and she was dehydrated, underweight, and infested with fleas – but she was alive.
The kitten was taken to the animal hospital for treatment, and Pataky went to check on her a few days later. He wanted to make sure that this little kitty, who craved the affection she’d been lacking, would be given a home where she’d be cared for. That’s when he decided: that home would be with him.
He told The Journal News that he figured, “You know, she’d be better off home with me,” and went on to explain, “You just feel it… this was the right thing to do.”
Now, the cuddly black kitty — with yellow eyes, big ears, and a white patch on her chest — has a home with Pataky, his fiancé, and a 6-year-old gray cat who is also a rescue.
The new furry family member has yet to be named; they want to get to know her a little better so they can pick something that’s purrfectly fitting.
“I want to get her settled in and see her personality and see her quirks. I’ll come up with something in a couple of days,” Pataky explained in the story.
In the meantime, and to the couple’s delight, the kitten seems to be making up for lost time with extra snuggles.
“She’s in my fiancee’s lap and she’s loving life right now.” he said in the story. “[The kitten] walked around real quick, [then] my fiancee sat on the floor and the cat walked right over to her and plopped in her lap and hasn’t left yet.”
Way to go above and beyond, Officer Pataky! We’re so glad there’s a happy ending for this little kitten and her new family.
(h/t: The Journal News)