Woman Surprise Spots Litte Friend On The Edge Of A Bridge And Springs Into Action

"She was clearly terrified, I was scared she was going to jump."

Nicole Toney was headed home on her lunch break from work and was driving across a bridge when suddenly she saw something that practically made her heart stop.

There, balancing on the edge of the bridge, was a tiny kitten.

By the time Toney realized what the kitten was and that she definitely needed help, she had already driven past her, and she circled back around as quickly as she could, hoping with everything she had that the kitten would still be there.

“I wanted to puke,” Toney told. “I was really nervous that she wasn’t going to be there when I turned back around.”

Toney pulled over as safely as she could on the busy highway and was thrilled to see that the kitten was still there. She was afraid she might scare the kitten with her car, so she didn’t want to pull up too close to her. Toney knew the situation was a precarious one and did her best to proceed with caution.

“I walked up to her slowly because I was scared of heights and I was scared she was going to jump, and then I just wanted to be sure to get really close to her so I could put my arm behind her so that if she went off the bridge, I could try to catch her,” Toney said. “Then I grabbed the nape of her neck and immobilized her like how mom cats carry them by the scruff of their neck.”

Throughout the entire rescue, the little kitten barely moved a muscle. She was clearly terrified, and even though she may have been a little nervous about a strange woman approaching her, she seemed to understand that Toney was there to help her.

“She didn’t hiss, she didn’t claw; I think she was too scared to move,” Toney said. “She just kind of was like, ‘OK, cool, someone got me down!’”

Once Toney got the little kitten safely into the car, she was so relieved. She’d been so worried, but she’d managed to save her, and the kitten seemed pretty relieved as well. She just sat in the car as the pair drove home together, grateful to no longer be hovering on the edge of a bridge.

On her way home, Toney called her husband and told him the story. They already had five dogs and a cat, but he told her to bring the kitten home anyway, get her situated and they’d figure it out from there.

“He was like, 'OK, well we’ll talk about it after work,' and then we never really talked about it, we just kind of kept her,” Toney said.

The couple decided to name the kitten Ducky because she was such a lucky duck for surviving her ordeal. They had previously had two cats at home, Nigel and Mabel, but Mabel sadly went missing a few years ago. They hoped that over time, Ducky could be a new friend for Nigel after losing his sister.

“She looks a lot like [Mabel],” Toney said. “I was like, 'Man, we definitely have to keep her!' I felt bad that Nigel didn’t have his sister anymore and I was just kind of like, 'She can be his sister.'”

It’s been a few months now since Ducky was rescued, and she’s settled into her new home pretty well. She’s still a little skittish after everything she’s been through, but she loves her new family very much, and her mom is so glad that she happened to drive past her that day.

“She’s pretty playful, she’s sweet — I don’t think she’s fully come out of her shell yet,” Toney said.