Last Friday, drivers on the 60 freeway in Mira Loma, Calif., were horrified to see a cat in a terrible plight.

The long-haired black feline was sitting atop a concrete barrier overlooking the freeway, 200 feet up, doing her best to avoid the speeding traffic that kept her trapped.

Riverside County Animal Services Officer Gary Pahls responded to the call for help, and saw right away that the cat was literally between a rock and a hard place, “up about 200 feet on the highest bridge and was up on the barrier, hanging off the edge trying to get away from traffic,” he said.

[She] was as far to the edge as possible to get away from the traffic without falling over the side.

Pahls called in the California Highway Patrol to slow traffic so he could try to rescue the frightened feline.

When he approached, he realized that this cat was no stray. “Even when she was up on top of the bridge, she didn’t once hiss or even try to resist me,” Pahls said. The cat was very happy, and I was very happy to get her off there. She was very calm and relaxed.

Once the cat was safely off the freeway ramp, Pahls realized that the feline refugee was almost certainly pregnant — and that somebody might have decided to take care of their cat’s unwanted pregnancy by ditching her on the freeway.

“It’s highly improbable that the cat walked up there itself. Look at how nice the cat is, it’s definitely somebody’s cat,” Pahls said, “and being that it’s pregnant, I seriously think somebody threw it out the window. The injuries it had on its face and its body looked like road rash.”

Pahls was relieved that the former owner’s actions didn’t result in the cat’s death — or the death of motorists trying to avoid killing or injuring the abandoned feline.

“It’s completely unnecessary,” Pahls said. “If things are so bad that they can’t hang onto the animal, they can always drop it off at the shelter. There’s always things that can be worked out; it’s not worth taking a life.”

The cat was nicknamed Mira, short for Mira Loma. She is now in the hands of the Department of Animal Services’ Veterinary Services Division. Hopefully, once she recovers and her kittens are weaned, Mira will find a loving adoptive home and she’ll forget about her freeway ordeal.

[Source: All Pet News]