Two 10 year-old boys in a suburb of New York are being called local heroes after they came to the aid of a tiny kitten whose paws had become frozen to a metal sewer grate.
Jack Masciopinto and Mike Margolis were on their way to school in Marmaroneck, New York last week when they saw four black spots on a metal sewer grate. At first they thought the spots were mice, but as they walked closer the boys realized they were the paws of a small black kitten.
Frigid weather had caused the cat’s paws to become frozen solid to the sewer grid – the way a tongue sticks a freezing light post।
Mike Margolis said, “Me and Jack were walking in front and we looked over…and looked down and saw these green eyes staring up at us.”
The boys took quick action to help the kitten, in a way that most other kids would. They called mom and dad for help.
Luckily Mike’s father Steven was home and he contacted the Department of Public Works.
Soon there were half-dozen workers on the scene. All of them agreed the kitten would have died if Jack and Mike hadn’t found her.
The DPW workers first used a crowbar to free the frozen metal grid.
“They had to hit it with a sledgehammer because it was frozen in the ground,” said mom Jenny Margolis. “When they picked up the grate, the cat came up too.”
A police officer at the rescue scene poured warm water over the kitten’s paws to release her from the sewer grate.
The kitten was transported to a local animal hospital where she received a thorough examination. Dr. Gina Antiaris DVM said the kitten is approximately 5 months old and had early signs of hypothermia.
The cat will be placed for adoption by Christmas, if her owner doesn’t step forward to claim her.
