Nicole Toney was halfway through her lunch break drive home when a single, terrifying sight made her heart leap into her throat.
Perched on the very edge of a busy bridge was something impossibly small.
A kitten.
At first, Toney could hardly process what she was seeing. By the time the realization hit, she had already driven past the spot. Panic set in instantly — and she turned her car around as fast as she safely could, praying the kitten would still be there.
“I wanted to puke,” Toney told The Dodo. “I was really nervous that she wasn’t going to be there when I turned back around.”
The bridge was crowded with traffic, and Toney pulled over as carefully as possible. When she spotted the kitten still balancing on the edge, relief washed over her — followed quickly by fear. One wrong move could send the tiny cat tumbling.
Not wanting to startle her, Toney kept her distance at first. She knew every step mattered.
“I walked up to her slowly because I was scared of heights and I was scared she was going to jump,” Toney said. “I wanted to get close enough that if she went off the bridge, I could try to catch her.”
With her heart pounding, Toney reached out, gently slipping her arm behind the kitten and grabbing the scruff of her neck the way a mother cat would. In one careful motion, she lifted her to safety.
Throughout the entire rescue, the kitten barely moved.
“She didn’t hiss, she didn’t claw,” Toney said. “I think she was too scared to move. It was kind of like she thought, ‘OK, cool — someone got me down.’”
Once the kitten was safely inside the car, the tension finally melted away. The tiny survivor sat quietly in the passenger seat as they drove off together — no longer clinging to the edge of a bridge, no longer alone.
On the way home, Toney called her husband to explain what had just happened. The couple already had five dogs and a cat, but his response was immediate.
“Bring her home,” he told her. “We’ll figure it out.”
They never really did have that follow-up conversation.
They just kept her.
The couple named the kitten Ducky, a nod to how incredibly lucky she was to survive her terrifying ordeal. At home, Ducky joined their resident cat, Nigel, who had lost his sister, Mabel, years earlier.
“She looks a lot like Mabel,” Toney said. “I felt bad that Nigel didn’t have his sister anymore. I thought, ‘She can be his sister.’”
Months later, Ducky has settled into her new life. She’s still a little shy, still learning that she’s safe — but her playful, sweet personality is beginning to shine through.
“She’s pretty playful, she’s sweet,” Toney said. “I don’t think she’s fully come out of her shell yet.”
But one thing is certain: thanks to one woman’s split-second decision to stop, a tiny kitten who once balanced on the edge of a bridge now has a family — and a future filled with love. 🐾
