Kids & Family

UPDATED: San Rafael Man Rescues Kitten from Highway in Oakland

The tiny kitten, first spotted as a "black little blob" on the side of the highway," is now safe at the Marin Humane Society in Novato.

Editor's note: This article was originally published on Aug. 6 at 4:43 p.m. and was updated on Aug. 7 at 4:46 p.m. after an interview with Tony Franco. 

By Jessica Mullins

Tony Franco isn’t even a cat person. 

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That thought went through his mind when he was walking along the shoulder of Highway 880 in Oakland on Tuesday, attempting to rescue a tiny kitten that was on the edge of the slow lane. He watched the tires of a semi truck come six inches from the kitten and hoped he wouldn’t meet his demise while attempting to rescue a feline.  

The San Rafael resident first saw the kitten when he drove by it in the slow lane. 

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“It was just this black little blob. When I passed by I noticed it was a kitten,” Franco said. 

As soon as he saw the kitten move he pulled his car into the shoulder and scooped it up. 

“It was all discombobulated and had some blood on his nose and ear,” he said. “It didn’t put up a fight or anything like that." 

He drove back to Marin while the small kitten silently sat in his lap and drove the tiny feline to the Marin Humane Society in Novato. 

“It was a super, super cute kitten,” said Franco, 37, who works in San Rafael as a sales and account manager for Nestle.

He said officials at the human society estimated that the kitten was “weeks old.”

 


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