On a chilly afternoon in Albany, New York, a passerby noticed something unusual by a garbage can — a pair of wide, fearful eyes staring back at them.
Curious and concerned, the Good Samaritan looked closer and made a heartbreaking discovery: a small tiger-striped cat zipped inside a duffel bag and left out with the trash.
Animal control was called immediately, and the frightened cat was rushed to safety at Mohawk Hudson Humane Society.
When intake coordinator Kara Murry first met the little cat, later named Newt, she couldn’t believe her gentle nature. Despite being abandoned so cruelly, Newt greeted her rescuers with affection.
“I remember saying, ‘How could anyone throw you in the trash? You’re so sweet and cuddly!’” Murry recalled. “She was purring and rubbing against us, almost as if to say, ‘Thank you for saving me.’”
At the shelter, Newt was given food, water, and a full veterinary checkup. She quickly won over the entire staff with her loving personality.
“She came right up to me for pets and love the first time I met her,” said veterinary assistant Heather Ellis. “She was incredibly sweet, wanted cuddles, and loved batting around pipe cleaners.”
It didn’t take long for Newt’s story to take a brighter turn. Just a week later, she met a man searching for a companion — and the connection was instant. Newt went home with him that very day.
Now safe and cherished, Newt will never again face the cold or the loneliness of being left behind.
“As the saying goes, one person’s trash is another person’s treasure,” said Marguerite Pearson, director of marketing and communications at Mohawk Hudson. “And Newt is truly a treasure for her new dad.”
To support other animals like Newt, consider donating to Mohawk Hudson Humane Society.
