Caltrans Workers Rescue 8-Week-Old Kitten From Rush-Hour Traffic
SAN CLEMENTE (CBSLA.com) — A 2-pound kitten was rescued Wednesday morning after she somehow ended up on a busy San Clemente freeway during rush-hour traffic.
The kitten was discovered by Caltrans workers beneath a piece of wood in the median on the 5 Freeway at the Vista Hermosa exit.
The crew had arrived for cleanup efforts and rescued the ball of fur.
"What they had told me was they had moved it initially. Were nervous that the kitten would escape, so they placed the wood back in place and then were able to capture the kitten," Kim Cholodenko told CBS2's Michele Gile.
Cholodenko says the 8-week-old kitten in a bag was dropped off at the San Clemente-Dana Point Animal Shelter, the same shelter a dog named Chevy landed in 2012 after a hot and harrowing 100-mile journey inside a truck's engine compartment.
Shelter staff named the kitty Pumpkin. They've also been speculating as to how she ended up on the highway and managed to survive.
"Possibly, a carrier happened to drop onto the freeway into the center median and possibly the kitten or family, mother and kittens, escaped from there. There's so many possibilities. Could it have run across the freeway when it was slower? Unlikely, but who knows," Cholodenko said.
Over the next few days, Pumpkin will be seen by a veterinarian and will receive her vaccines and be spayed. She will be available for adoption by next Tuesday.
For information as to how to adopt Pumpkin or other pets, click here.