Kitten saved from being crushed in trash truck

Two NYC Department of Sanitation workers, William and John, initially thought that Monday was going to be just another day’s work as they started their daily routine in Queens.

While they were tossing garbage bags into the back of the truck, they heard a meow. they hoped it was just a toy, but it wasn’t.

William and his colleague John Kase opened the bag and found a scared little kitten crying for help.

They just couldn’t believe their eyes. One of them said: “Who would do this? Putting the cat in the bag… There are so many different outlets to get to help a cat with a better life than to put it in a bag and tie it up and tape around the top. I can’t help but think it was intentional.”

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Just to be sure, they checked all the other bags for more cats, and fortunately, or unfortunately, depending on how you look at it, he was the only one.

They removed a piece of gunk from his eyes, and the worker put the kitten against his chest to soothe him. The workers thought about giving him a name, and debated between Rusty and Hopper.

They went with Hopper, which is a nickname for the back of the garbage truck, from which the poor cat was saved.

They called their supervisor to take him to the vet so they could carry on with their duties. Hopper was brought to the vet, and it was estimated that he was about 10 weeks old and had eye and upper respiratory infections.

Later he was taken to a local rescue, where they found him a foster home until Hopper finds forever home.

His rescuers, William and John, bought a cat bed and some supplies as a parting gift.

People at the rescue center were glad Hopper could be saved but also disgusted at whoever did such a terrible thing, they said:

“If you don’t want it, call someone. There are so many shelters. It makes no sense why someone would do something so horrible.”

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A sad story with a happy ending. Hopper’s health is stable, and he’s healing from the whole trauma and his infections.