Four weeks after Laura Robley and her family moved to Woodmen Hills, the family cat, Tiger (more commonly known as Kitty), escaped out their front door. Kitty is an indoor cat, and obviously seized a rare opportunity to check out the new neighborhood.”Kitty got spooked, and we couldn’t immediately find him,” Robley said. She and her daughter searched the neighborhood for hours that night with no luck. Surely, however, they would find Kitty in the morning, Robley thought. But Kitty was nowhere around the following morning. Robley didn’t give up because Kitty wore a collar with identification and rabies tags. She was certain someone would find him and call her voice mail.About 11 a.m., Robley checked her voice mail and was surprised to hear the following message: “I was behind your truck when your cat flew out of the window on I 25.”When Robley called the person back, this is what she found out: Tiger had “flown out” of a green Toyota Tacoma truck as the driver sped down Interstate 25, near Gleneagle, at 75 miles per hour. The green truck was in the fast lane.Horrified witnesses watched as Kitty landed on his feet and ran into the slow lane. A white car tried to avoid hitting Kitty but ended up running over the top of Kitty. Another person behind the white car slammed on his brakes, and Kitty, miraculously still alive, ran to the side of the road.Two witnesses to the incident, Chris Meubauer, who owns C & C Plumbing in Lakewood, Colo., and his son, Joe, stopped to retrieve Kitty, who amazingly was still intact and alive. The Good Samaritans took Kitty to the Petsmart veterinary office at the Park Meadows Mall and stayed with him until Robley arrived.Because Kitty had landed on his feet, his footpads and most of his claws were torn off. Luckily, and again miraculously, there were no internal injuries or broken bones, Robley said. When Kitty hit the pavement, his lip also was ripped away from his bottom gum and one tooth was broken. He had road rash, bruises, and was, to say the least, very sore, she added.But Kitty is back home today, and seems to be doing okay after a tough week with medications and dealing with his bruises. “He’s 11 and a half, and he’s been with us since he was born,” Robley said. So she said the love of his long-time human family has helped Kitty get through his trauma.”The story is about evil, miracles and heroes,” Robley said.The evil, they surmised, is about someone finding Kitty that night – most likely in Falcon – and deciding to have some “fun” with someone’s cat. According to a brochure by C.A.T.S., the Coalition of Artists Toward a Humane Society, a former nonprofit cat rescue organization, “Indoor cats usually do not venture far from their home if they happen to get out accidentally.” Robley said she thinks someone picked up Kitty and took him for a joy ride. A definite case of animal cruelty.The miracle is that Kitty survived the act of cruelty without life-threatening injuries.The heroes are two plumbers who stopped to find Kitty, even though they thought Kitty would probably be dead, and then took a big chunk out of their day to make sure Kitty got the medical attention he needed.Robley filed a report with the sheriff’s department, but unfortunately, no one got the driver’s license of the green Toyota truck. There is a “Justice for Kitty Reward Fund” sponsored by Paals Animal Rescue Sanctuary. Anyone knowing anything about the incident, or anyone who has seen a green Toyota Tacoma truck in the area or elsewhere should contact the sheriff’s department at 520-7100, or visit the Paals Web site www.paals1.org.Robley said Kitty won’t be going out again anytime soon, however, many other “kitties” are still in danger if this is a case of animal cruelty, which allegedly started in Falcon.Editor’s note: This is not how we want to welcome new neighbors to Falcon. Remember parents, teachers, counselors, etc.: Animal cruelty is one of the first warnings there is a sociopath lurking among us – a sociopath whose next victim could be a child. Anyone who has any information about this situation can also call the New Falcon Herald at 229-2970 and remain anonymous.
