Ducky, the kitten, was one “lucky duck” after finding herself on the edge of a bridge in Texas. Fortunately, an animal lover spotted the tiny kitten. Despite a fear of heights, the motorist turned around to save the kitten.
Nicole Toney was driving home on her lunch break and crossed the Veterans Memorial Bridge in Bridge City, Texas. Then, she saw something strange. At first, she noticed a bird hovering near the ledge.
“Why is there a bird flying this close to traffic?” she thought. As she got closer, she saw the kitten. Then, she knew she had to do something. “I couldn’t have lived with myself if I had left her there. I would’ve just been imagining herself jumping off the bridge, committing suicide, and that would have been terrible too,” she said on TikTok.
Overcoming a Fear of Heights to Save a Kitten
Once Toney realized the kitten was there, she had to continue driving across the bridge. Then, she looped around on the paralell Rainbow Bridge and returned, taking about 4 minutes in all. She was “freaking out” for the kitten the whole way back.
Then, not knowing what would happen, she started taking a video from her car.
“I started to film because I didn’t know what would happen. I didn’t know if I was going to get hit,” she said of the cars going by at 75 mph.
“I also don’t know what I would have done if she had jumped off and I had caught it on video,” she continued.
Making the encounter even more heroic, Toney says she is very fearful of heights and was “scared and nervous” the entire time.
“I legitimately felt like I was going to puke the entire time,” she said.
“I was really nervous that she wasn’t going to be there when I turned back around,” she told The Dodo.
Next, what happened became a viral TikTok after Toney initially posted the video to Facebook.
Video via TikTok/nicoletoney
Lucky Ducky
As Toney returned to the spot where she had seen the kitten, she was relieved – the kitten was still there. She gave her some distance rather than driving up close, fearing the car might scare the kitten into jumping. Then, Toney had to wait until it was safe to exit her car as vehicles sped by.
Next, she had to approach the kitten slowly and closely. Although she was scared of the height, she went to the bridge edge and got her arm under the kitten to secure it. Then, she grabbed the kitten by the scruff of the neck, as a mama cat would.
“So, I walked up to her very slowly because I didn’t want to spook her. I think she was so terrified she could not move, but I wanted to be sure to put my arm around her, behind her in case she backed up and started to fall off the bridge,” she said.
Screenshots via TikTok/nicoletoney
Although she feared the worst, the kitten seemed to know Toney was there to help.
“She didn’t hiss, she didn’t claw; I think she was too scared to move,” Toney said. “She just kind of was like, ‘OK, cool, someone got me down!'”
Nevertheless, Toney seemed so outwardly calm and heroically returned to her car with Ducky safely in her arms.
Thinking the cat was very lucky, Toney named her Ducky because “she was a lucky duck.” Sometimes, Nicole refers to her as “the Bridge Kitty.”
Image via Facebook/ Nicole Toney
Ducky Looks Like Long-Lost Mabel
With the kitten safely in the car, Toney called her husband to tell him. Now, would he agree to have another pet, as they already have five dogs and a cat? All of the couple’s pets are rescues.
“My husband and I are kind of animal suckers,” she says.
From the moment she had this furbaby in her arms, she knew that she wanted to keep her. Initially, her husband wanted to talk about it, but that never actually happened.
“He was like, ‘OK, well we’ll talk about it after work,’ and then we never really talked about it, we just kind of kept her,” Toney said.
Interestingly, Ducky looks much like Mabel, the couple’s cat who ran away two years ago. Since Mabel left, her brother Nigel has been missing her. Perhaps, the new kitten could help Nigel feel better about losing his sister.
How did Ducky end up on the bridge? Possibly, somebody dumped her nearby, but it’s only a guess. Also, there’s no telling how she managed to perch herself on the bridge edge. Fortunately, she was unharmed, aside from being very scared.
Ducky Fits Right In With The Family
Immediately, the new fluffy family member started fitting right in, says Toney. It seems she was meant to be.
“She fits right which we just kind of knew she would,” she says.
However, after the fright on the bridge, the kitten remained skittish and timid, hiding in the house.
“We had to put a bell on her so I could find her,” says Toney.
After a couple of weeks, Ducky became bolder and played with all the dogs.
“Our Golden is obsessed with her,” says Toney. “Literally, salivates waiting for her to come play,” she continued.
For more, follow Nicole Toney on TikTok.
