One little kitten in New Brunswick may be down a life, but he’s up a couple of heroes.
Leland Nason and Chuck Lewis were on their daily garbage route earlier this week, picking up trash outside of Fredericton, in the rural area around Minto, when the spotted a tuft of fur in a snowbank.
“We passed the cat, it looked to be deceased,” Nason told The Daily Gleaner. “On the way back up the road, he lifted his head. We put the truck in reverse and picked him up and the rest is history.”
The cat was soaked in its own urine and frozen to the snowbank.
“He was stuck to the ground and I had to dig him out,” Nason added.
The two men warmed up the kitten in the truck and wrapped him in a coat. And then they got him to the CARMA Cat Rescue Maritimes, which has since named the three- or four-month-old kitten Ajax. (He is the first kitten rescued this year and wanted to start with the letter A.)
“We present to you our heroes!” the animal shelter posted on Facebook yesterday. “A happy, purring Ajax is reunited with Chuck (on the left) and Leland (holding Ajax)”
The shelter found the cat had frostbitten paws, which were painful and swollen. He also had ear mites and fleas. But despite it all, he’s “really sweet, affectionate, and cuddly.”
And already, he has found a family and heads to his forever home today. Ajax has also had an outpouring of support from across Canada.
“Thank you for your support and concern for Ajax,” the animal shelter said. “We will continue to keep you informed about his recover. HUGE THANKS TO LELAND AND CHUCK FOR THEIR COMPASSION AND HEROICS! They changed the fate of one little cat.”
The group also used all the attention to send a message about responsible pet ownership.
“We dream of a world in which all cats (and other pets) live happily in forever homes and none have to fight to survive on their own or suffer lonely and painful deaths, a fate that Ajax very nearly suffered. We can and must do better in this province for unwanted and feral cats.”
Photos CARMA Cat Rescue Maritimes/Facebook
