Kitty dumped into rush hour traffic, but she survives by a whisker

DELRAY BEACH — Someone dumped a kitten into the road during rush hour in Delray Beach, but the lucky feline managed to survive.

Another driver saw it happen and tried to rescue the abandoned animal, but the terrified kitty ducked into the car’s engine compartment. A fire rescue crew spent close to an hour retrieving the kitten on Federal Highway near Linton Boulevard, said community service officer Kelly Lofts.

“This is an instance where one person does a bad thing, but then a whole group of people come together to do the right thing,” Lofts said. “Everyone comes together to right a wrong.”

Delray Beach Police community service officer Kelly Lofts holds "Kitty," who she helped rescue from a car's engine compartment after a driver abandoned the cat in rush hour traffic. (Dani Moschella)

When Lofts got off duty, she got the female kitten from firefighters and took her to a veterinarian to make sure she was not seriously hurt.

The 8-week-old kitten, named “Kitty” for now, is staying with Lofts and her 17-year-old cat Oliver.

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“He’s not too happy right now,” she said with a laugh. “The kitten seems very excited, but I think what the kitten needs is some cat attention.”

Police might have looked for the driver who abandoned the kitten if the kitten had died. An investigation seems unlikely now that there’s a happy ending, officials said.

wkroustan@sunsentinel.com or 954-356-4303 or Twitter @WayneRoustan