Man Spots Tiny Kitten On Sidewalk With Shoelaces Around His Neck
When no one else would, he stopped to lend a hand.
In Yonkers, New York, Timofey Yuriev was driving along a street when he caught a glimpse of a very small person gently crawling along a busy sidewalk. Yuriev felt he needed to stop and assist the cat the moment he noticed it was a kitten.
Yuriev told The Dodo, “There was a bus stop and people were going about, but nobody was looking at the small little kitten. I stopped right away since the cat was crawling toward the road and would have been hit by oncoming traffic. When I got close to the kitten, I noticed that he had a shoelace tightly wrapped around his neck.
When Yuriev noticed that someone had brutally wrapped a shoelace around the helpless kitten’s neck, he was horrified and appalled. He immediately started trying to untie it. After everything he had gone through, the tiny kitty was utterly afraid and wouldn’t look his rescuer in the eye. It took Yuriev around five minutes to completely undo the shoelace and free the kitten, who was eventually given the name Laces.
The kitten began meowing when I set him loose, according to Yuriev. Because it was so tight around his neck, he was unable to meow earlier. Still terrified, he then began to howl a little. He was really feeble, so I put him in the car. He didn’t try to scratch me or anything, but he did try to get as far away as he could into the shadows under the seat.
Little Lace was saved by Yuriev, who then took him right away to Paws Crossed Animal Rescue where he could receive the aid and attention he need. The kitten’s origins horrified everyone at the shelter, and they were not surprised that he was so afraid of everyone and everything around him. He was estimated to be roughly two and a half months old, and despite being underweight, he was actually in quite decent shape overall.
He had a few scratches and was quite underweight, according to Julie Potter, business and development manager of Paws Crossed Animal Rescue, who spoke with The Dodo. “Can you blame him?” I asked. “He was mostly just very, very nervous and absolutely wary of people.”
Despite everything he had gone through, Laces quickly warmed up to all of his new buddies and before long the entire shelter had fallen head over heels in love with him. No one was shocked when, barely a week and a half after coming at the shelter, he already had a prospective new home because he adored hugging and loving on everyone.
When reading a story her station conducted about Laces, News 12 Westchester anchor Lisa Salvadorini fell in love. She recognized him right away as someone who belonged in her family.
Salvadorini told The Dodo, “I was reading the morning news at 5 in the morning. “I need to bring that kitty home after seeing his adorable little face,” I exclaimed to my co-anchor. Even the non-cat lovers in the studio adored Little Laces and felt it was a wonderful idea.
Salvadorini met Laces at Paws Crossed Animal Rescue on the same day she had her doubts that he was the cat she was supposed to adopt, which meeting Laces verified. Laces would make the ideal first cat a family could ask for since none of her two children had ever owned a cat before.
Laces is still a young dog, so Salvadorini took him in as a “foster to adopt.” Once he can be neutered, she and her family will be able to finalize the adoption. She made the choice to keep Laces a secret from her children until she brought him home, so when she did, they were shocked and overjoyed to see their mother enter the room carrying a tiny kitten who wished only to be their mother forever.
It came as a tremendous surprise, according to Salvadorini. “They were astonished to find a fresh kitten in the house! When they first saw him, they were crying tears of happiness. Since then, they have lavished him with affection.
Laces is ecstatic to be living with his new family and has already adapted to his forever home completely. After hearing about his story, everyone is amazed at what a joyful and playful kitten he is. He enjoys meeting all of the friends and neighbors of his new family. Laces hasn’t let his past hold him back in the slightest, and he now has a lifetime of happiness with his incredible new family to look forward to.
He was given the name Laces by the shelter, according to Salvadorini. We are thrilled that we were able to change something negative into something nice.