Mom, Daughter Help Kitten Escape Predator's Clutches

Photo credit: Krzysztof P. Jasiutowicz/Wiki Commons

By City News Service

A 5-week-old kitten that narrowly missed becoming a meal for a hungry hawk Tuesday afternoon is still alive, thanks to an alert Jurupa Valley mom and daughter.

According to the Riverside County Department of Animal Services, Lindsey Gage and her 6-year-old daughter, Jaylie, were heading out to shop for groceries when they spotted a large hawk perched on a basketball hoop along Mountain Shadow Drive about 1 p.m.

Gage said she noticed something unusual and soon realized that the hawk was clutching something -- a small white kitten.

“Just then, the hawk took off and started flying down the street,” said Animal Services spokesman John Welsh. “The hawk lost its grasp on the kitten, and the white furball dropped from the sky.”

Gage and her daughter jumped out of the car and ran to where the feline fell, carrying the shocked animal away before the hawk could make a second pass.

Gage drove the kitten to the Western Riverside County Animal Shelter in Jurupa Valley, where veterinary care specialists treated her for a non-life- threatening chest wound, Welsh said.

He said the kitten is is expected to make a full recovery, but it was unclear when she might be available for adoption.