Staff Reports
A kitten that was thrown into the canal near the Big Bridge on Main Street was rescued by the Lockport Fire Co., with the help of boaters from Buffalo on Sunday morning. The cat is doing well in her new home in Lancaster.
A witness saw a man throw the 4-month-old calico into the canal near Aaron’s Sales and Lease Ownership and called the police. The police called the fire company, and the second platoon responded.
“It was swimming back in forth in canal and climbed up on the railroad ties between Friendly’s and the old Kenyon’s below the Main Street bridge,” firefighter Jon Fredrickson said.
The firefighters considered rappelling down the bank to rescue the cat, but noted a boat was just coming down the canal. Assistant Chief Mike Seeloff decided to use the boat.
“A civilian with a boat picked us up and took the boat to where the cat was. We snagged it and took it back to shore,” said Fredrickson, who’s the one who snatched the cat. The firefighter likes cats. He has four, himself.
Wayne and Patty Kwiatkowski of Buffalo had guests Stan and Kathy Brozyna of Hamburg on their boat.
Lori Mathews of Lancaster, who also witnessed the cat’s adventure and took pictures, plans to keep the cat.
Mathews said she was on her way to see the horse she boards in Newfane when she noticed the commotion at the canal. When the cat was rescued, “Everybody was cheering — they were really worried about the cat,” she said.
Mathews said she told rescuers she wanted to get in close for a photo of the kitten. When she did, she asked them what they were going to do with the animal, and found there was no plan for her. “I said ‘I’ll take her.’ ”
The cat is “very affectionate and very spunky,” said Mathews, who has another cat at home. She has named the new cat Lucky. “She’s pretty lucky to be alive, as far as I’m concerned,” Mathews said.
