The other day, a woman named Mauricia was on her way to the store, walking through The Bronx, New York, when she heard crying coming from a blue suitcase abandoned on the sidewalk.
Mauricia cautiously approached the suitcase and saw two “terrified” faces
peeking through a gap in the zipper — a small orange cat and a black-and-white cat, both hopelessly trapped inside.
“[Mauricia] was understandably shocked and felt terrible for the kitties,” Susan Schroeder of Bronx Tails Cat Rescue told The Dodo.
Mauricia contacted a rescuer friend, who reached out to Bronx Tails. Jamie, the rescue’s founder, raced to the scene and removed the cats from the dangerous situation.
“The inside of the suitcase was wet with condensation from the heat,” Bronx Tails wrote in a Facebook post. “We believe these poor babies may have been trapped inside for hours. We can only imagine how terrified they must have been.”
Back home, Jamie examined the cats. She found them to be extremely warm and affectionate, despite their ordeal.
“They are as friendly as can be,” the rescue wrote in a post.
Thankfully, neither cat appeared underweight or malnourished. Jamie treated both for fleas and gave them plenty of water, which they gladly gulped.
Rescuers named the cats Roku and Red Bull. Within a week of their rescue, they both were neutered and ready for temporary foster placement.
Today, Roku and Red Bull are preparing for adoption events, hoping to find permanent families.
With any luck, it won’t be long before they find their perfect match.
