Kitten Survives 120-Foot Gold Star Bridge Fall, Then Gets Adopted by Her Rescuer
A tiny kitten took a terrifying plunge from the Gold Star Memorial Bridge and somehow came through it with no broken bones. The man who pulled her from the water did not just help save her life, he later brought her home for good.
A bridge rescue no one expected
Bobby Silva thought June 27 would be an ordinary day of training drills and laps in the safety boats. Instead, a radio call from New London Animal Control sent him and others toward an emergency involving a 5 week old kitten in the water below the Gold Star Memorial Bridge safe span.
Silva, 26, of Waterford, is a member of Laborers Local 547 and was part of the group that helped with the rescue. He said his first thought was simple: get the cat out. When he saw the kitten in the rough water and high winds, he knew it had to happen fast. He was worried the boat itself could disturb the water around her and push her farther away.
Silva reached the kitten and pulled her into the boat. She was frightened and reacted like many very small cats would. She bit him and clung to his thumb for a couple of seconds. For Silva, it was the first animal rescue of his life. Even so, he said he is the kind of person who will act in the moment to try to help animals and people.
A very small survivor
The kitten was taken to a veterinary hospital after the rescue. New London Animal Control said she had no broken bones, which is remarkable given the reported 120 foot fall. She did have a bruised lung and fluid in that lung.
How she ended up in such danger is still not clear. Animal control has speculated that someone may have thrown her from a car. Silva has his own theory, saying he believes she landed on the safe span because she had tried to jump off the bridge before.
Whatever happened before the rescue, the kitten proved unusually tough. Silva later described her that way himself, and it is hard to argue with the label. A kitten that small surviving a plunge into choppy water, then hanging on through treatment, already sounds like a cat with a dramatic backstory.
From rescue story to forever home
The story did not end at the vet. On July 19, Silva adopted the kitten himself. He named her Molly Carlson after the Canadian world medalist cliff diver. An animal control officer who was there during the rescue had also given her a different nickname, Geronimo.
Silva said he has always been a cat person, and that this kitten's wild story, along with the rescue itself, made him feel he should keep her. He expected that a cat who had gone through so much might be nervous and withdrawn. Instead, he said Molly turned out to be affectionate, eager for attention and constantly purring.
In his telling, she is not a timid little survivor at all. She is a happy kitten who seems glad to be alive and cared for. Silva has encouraged other people to adopt animals they feel drawn to and to trust themselves to do the right thing. For cat people, this one lands exactly where you want it to: one tiny daredevil, one quick rescue, and a forever home with the person who could not leave her behind.
Share this article:
