A Ball Of Fur, A Busy Road, A Heroic Traffic Specialist: One Kitten's Journey To TPA

TAMPA, FL — It was a rainy Tuesday afternoon, Aug. 18, when TPA traffic specialist, Regina Glenn, saw what she thought was a rat dodging cars on the Blue Arrivals drive.

Traffic had finally slowed down after rain delays sent vehicles barreling through the curbside, but to a small animal it must have felt like Times Square on a Friday night.

Glenn approached the palm-sized, gray creature and quickly realized a tiny kitten must have fallen out from underneath one of the passing vehicles.

Dozens of vehicles came within mere feet of the kitten.

“There were cars coming by and coming by and I looked down and he was there,” she said. “He had to have been under someone’s car. It’s a miracle that he made it, and I don’t take credit for that. That was God.”

Glenn picked up the 11-ounce kitten and wrapped him in a towel.

“He was so nervous from all the commotion - wouldn’t stop meowing 'til I sat him down," she said.

She brought him back to the airport and the kitten fell asleep after the most stressful day of his weeks-old life. Then Glenn called in some reinforcements to figure out what to do next.

She wanted to bring him home, but couldn’t because she has family members with allergies.

Once word got around at the airport, though, there was no lack of new home options for him.

The kitten, named Blue after where he was found, was promptly adopted by traffic supervisor Steve Lee who took the kitten home to his wife. Because the kitten was too young to be separated from his mother, the couple have to feed him by bottle every four hours.

In a matter of hours, Blue went from being alone frightened and in danger to being comfortable, safe and surrounded by a new family including the Lees' two orange tabby cats.

This press release was produced by the Tampa International Airport. The views expressed are the author's own.