An officer known as the “Cat Cop” of Florida, Officer Gretchen Byrne, started rescuing cats when a pregnant cat approached her one night on patrol in Coral Springs, FL. Afterward, she took the cat to the police station and home, posting about the cat on Instagram.
That was in 2015, and from then on, cat rescue efforts would become part of her daily patrols. On Instagram, Byrne now has over 60.6K followers as she posts about “cat adventures while working road patrol in FL.”
“People started contacting me about stray cats they’d found,” Byrne told PEOPLE. “And I started noticing a lot of stray cats when I’d patrol the alleys behind businesses. I’d leave out food for them and then take those that I could with me and put them up for adoption via Instagram.”
“Cat Cop” of Florida, Officer Gretchen Byrne, media via Instagram/bocaratona
Cat Cop Uses Free Time to Care for Cats
After rescuing cats, she takes them to the station, fosters them at home, and uses her free time to find them forever homes.
“Instead of taking lunch breaks with my colleagues, I use that time to feed the cats,” she says, “and sometimes, I’ll take them up to the dispatchers, who have very stressful jobs and could use some kitten therapy.”
Over the years, she and other rescuers who have joined her have saved hundreds of cats, partnering with others like Beth Stern. In the police department, the Cat Cop has received praise and a Community Policing Award.
Occasionally, she experiences a “foster fail” like Frank, a tabby kitten now a beloved part of the family with her other cats. It goes with the territory of rescuing these little furballs.
🐅🏈 Super Bowl Babies – Ram and Bengal 🏈🐏
Recently, the Cat Cop rescued two adorable orange kitties, later named Ram and Bengal, on Super Bowl Sunday. Hence, the names are for the Los Angeles Rams and Cincinnati Bengals.
The little cuties were hiding near a dumpster. After rescuing them, Officer Byrne held them in the patrol car. As you can see, they instantly warmed up to her, seeming to know she was there to help. If only all rescues could go this smooth!
Many times, kittens like these are “spicy,” but not these guys. They melt like butter after Byrne takes them out of the carrier, receiving back scratches, kisses, and cuddles. Then, they go home to have their every need taken care of from now on.
As you can see below, it’s an unusually smooth kitten rescue operation.
“And just like that…”
Cat Cop Washes the Dumpster Off
Back at home on Valentine’s Day, the Cat Cop begins to “wash the dumpster” off Ram and Bengal.
“The human washed the dumpster off of us. She’s also wearing a ridiculous orange sweatshirt to make us feel more at home 🙄”
🧡 Dumpster Boys Meet New Furry Family 🧡
A few days later, the “dumpster boys” are already nuzzling and playing with “Old man Pipo,” one of Byrne’s rescues. It seems like the ginger babies seem to gravitate to the older orange cat, one person comments.
“Ram and Bengal our dumpster babies rescued on Super Bowl Sunday.”
As you can see, Ram and Bengal clean up great and are picture-perfect now.
Ram and Bengal
Now, these kittens are having the best time, getting lots of cuddles and keeping “Saint Pipo” on his toes.
For more, follow “Bocaratona” on Instagram.
