Saturday, August 4, 2012

The Miraculous Rescue of Jar Kitty

Janine Quinn feeds a group of feral cats that live in her trailer park near Greensburg, PA. On July 15, Janine spotted one of the cats with a peanut butter jar stuck on her head. Janine tried to catch the cat, but it got away.

Janine continued to look for “jar kitty” every day. She walked around her trailer park every night with a flashlight and prayed that she was still alive in the 90 degree heat. Janine even pulled the skirting off her own trailer and crawled underneath – but no luck.

As days turned into weeks, Janine began to despair. She worried that “jar kitty” might not be able to survive for such a long time without food and water. She continued to search on a daily basis hoping to find “jar kitty’s” body so she could have some sense of closure.

Finally on August 3, Janine received a phone call from her mother. “My mom called me and said ‘Janine get up here quick, your cat with the jar is here.’ I froze and then said no way. Well, she hung up, and I ran up with a can of sardines and a net.”

Janine saw the cat, but it also saw her and ran the other way. Janine put everything down and tried to call her, but “jar kitty” took off underneath another trailer.

“I decided that I was just going back to my house, and maybe she'd show up because she was heading in my direction last I saw her,” Janine said. “I just got back inside my house, and my sister calls from her cell phone and said ‘Janine, get out there. She's on your porch.’”

Janine went out on the porch and suddenly “jar kitty” was standing beside her. “So I paused for a second and thought... do I use the net or just grab her with my hands? She stopped right in front of me, and I just leaned over and grabbed her with my hands. She swung around and scratched me, but I didn’t feel it.”

Now that she had the cat, Janine needed to decide what to do next. “So I turned and opened my front door and threw her in - not hurting her, but it was that or she was going to get loose. She was freaking out in my house, and I went out to the shed and got the first cat carrier I could and came back in to find her on my kitchen table trying to get out the window.”

Janine grabbed the cat and put her in the carrier. “I just starting crying and thought to myself I can’t let the jar on her head. I have to get it off. So I got the Vaseline and a blanket, sat on the floor, opened the cage and grabbed her. I got Vaseline all over my fingertips and lubed the jar as much as I could. Then I tried pulling the jar off and couldn’t. So I got more Vaseline and lubed it again...tried pulling it off and couldn’t. Meanwhile she sat there patiently and waited, so I tried one more time and she actually stretched her neck and put her head up like she was trying to help me and the jar popped off.”

Once the jar was removed, Janine took the cat to Frankie’s Friends, a nonprofit cat rescue located in Tarentum, PA. According to Janine, the cat has wounds on its ears and face, which may be infected. The veterinarian at Frankie’s Friends is providing care for “jar kitty” and Janine has established a Chip-In to help offset the cost of this care.

My heart goes out to “jar kitty” who miraculously survived 20 days without food and water. Thank you to Janine Quinn for never giving up the search and to Frankie’s Friends for providing much-needed veterinary care.

20 comments:

  1. Sad story with a happy ending. Best wishes and good health to Jar Kitty and big thank you to Janine for her dedication to a kitty that needed help!

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  2. well done to Janine and Frankies vets,and lets hope Jar Kitty gets well and bakc to tip top health.xo Speedy's mum

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  3. Glad to read that this story had a happy ending :)
    Poor kitty that ran around with that jar on the head for weeks :(

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  4. Hooray to Janine for never giving up hope!!

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  5. OMC - that is some story. Thank C for that wonderful lady. Due to all her massive efforts, it has a happy ending. That poor kitty, How scared it must have been.

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  6. Wow, incredible story. Thank goodness the cat was caught. What a great cautionary tale regarding tossed refuse. Wildlife often has this happen, too--raccoons, skunks and of course cats and sometimes dogs. Throw it out in appropriate animal proof trash bins! There won't always be a Janine able to run to the rescue.

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  7. Vicki, I just finished mine! What a wonderful story--we can't tell it enough!

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  8. So glad this little Miracle has found people who care and will ensure that her future has a loving home in it!

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  9. Thanks for telling that story! A good PSA for folks about their garbage. Someone told me recently about cans too that I did not know. Always take the lids right off - not partially and then push them down in to the side of the can. Any animal that sticks its head in cannot pull pack out if the lid is only pushed in on the side. Not only do they get stuck, they get cut by the razor sharp edges.

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  10. Janine is truly an animal hero. What she does for all the cats goes above and beyond what most would do. She has saved countless others that were sick also. I am proud to have her as my Friend!

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  11. Thank Goodness!!! What an awful thing to have to go through. Janine, you are a hero!!!!!!!

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  12. What a story! I'm glad Jar Kitty is going to get the help she needs!

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  13. Thank goodness that Janine cared enough to save the "jar kitty", we're so glad that there was a happy ending!

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  14. What an amazing rescue story! I sure hope Jar Kitty gets better and finds a home real soon!

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  15. So glad the kitty was rescued. She must have been so miserable and suffering with the jar on her head.

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  16. Persistance + Love = HAPPY ENDING
    Way to go Janine !! :))

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  17. I love stories like this where people have heart
    for these little creatures ! I try my best as well...

    God Bless

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  18. HAPPY ENDING!! PLEASE REMEMBER TO CUT THE RINGS ON THE PLASTIC SOFT DRINK HOLDERS BEFORE TOSSING THEM IN THE TRASH.

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  19. Thank you all for the sweet comments.I would do it all over again if I had to,I pray that I never do but I keep track of the cats out here and make sure theyre around and ok,if not I'll go looking for them.I have a group for Angel with all her updated progress its....Angel the Jar Kitty :-)

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