Trapped and afraid, a small black cat stumbled near a suburban road in Long Island, New York, perhaps hoping someone might notice him and help. The cat had gotten his head stuck while sniffing inside a jar, and now everything was completely dark.
Luckily, someone saw the cat and alerted Long Island Cat/Kitten Solution vice president John Debacker, who quickly headed to the scene. When he arrived, Debacker had no problem spotting the troubled animal.
“I noticed the cat immediately laying on the front of someone’s driveway,” Debacker told The Dodo.
Though the situation was heartbreaking, Debacker wasn’t necessarily surprised. The experienced rescuer has seen plenty of animals trapped in discarded litter.
“It’s horrible — it happens a lot, actually,” Debacker said.
Using a net and a pair of gloves, Debacker contained the cat and gently pulled the can off of his head. The cat, perhaps realizing Debacker was there to help, remained completely calm.
“He didn’t fight me at all,” Debacker said.
Debacker soon realized the cat was feral and assumed the little guy lived in one of the feral cat colonies nearby. Since an older feral cat like this one cannot be domesticated, the best option was to follow the steps of TNR, or trap-neuter-return, a process wherein a feral cat is taken to a veterinarian to be spayed or neutered before returning to their colony.
Finally free, the cat was sent back to his colony. With any luck, he’ll be avoiding cans from now on.