The truck driver, Moses White, had already started the engine to leave for his round in Burlington County, New Jersey, that day, July 8. Motta told White to turn off the engine, then he climbed into the truck’s compartment and gently lifted the kitten out.
“I’ve had cats my whole life, and I know that when they’re babies, if you grab them by the skin on their neck, they think they’re being carried by their mother,” he said. “So that’s what I did.”
The kitten didn’t fight him.
“She was really scared, but she seemed happy to be rescued,” he said.
Motta used his bright yellow security shirt to clean the kitten as best he could and then called security officer Samantha Stamile to let her know what had happened.
Stamile told Motta to put the kitten in a box and then she ran to her office.
“I got there, and there was this cute little kitten, completely soaked in some kind of oil from inside the truck,” she said. “She also had green discharge from her eyes and was wheezing. We decided to clean her up right away.”
Stamile and Motta took the kitten to the fleet’s mechanic shop and gave her several baths with Dawn dish soap to remove the oil.
“The first bath didn’t do anything — she needed several,” Stamile said, noting that she also cleaned the kitten’s eyes with saline solution and gauze.
Motta decided there was only one name that suited the cat: Squishy.
“I thought it was perfect, because if I hadn’t seen her that morning, there would have been no way to save her,” he said.
Stamile fed Squishy cat food and took her to All Creatures Veterinary Care Center in Sewell, NJ, where she was examined at no cost and given antibiotics for an upper respiratory infection. The vet said she looked to be about 2 months old.
Otherwise, the kitten was fine, Stamile said, so she contacted Rise Again Animal Rescue, a New Jersey-based nonprofit animal adoption and foster organization. The Asbury Park Press was among several local news organizations to cover the happy rescue.
“I told them I wanted to foster Squishy until she was old enough to be spayed, vaccinated and put up for adoption,” said Stamile, 30, who has been fostering cats for the animal rescue for four years.
Ekaterina Sedia, founder of Rise Again Animal Rescue, said she has added Squishy to her adoption list.
“We know how easily a cat — or especially a kitten — can get hurt,” Sedia said. “Unless people intervene, an accidental injury is often a death sentence for a stray cat.”
Stamile said her two daughters, Arabella, 7, and Adelyn, 2, were delighted when she brought Squishy home and introduced her to the family’s other cat, Rascal.
“My kids have always loved taking in cats, and it teaches them the importance of treating all life forms with kindness and respect,” Stamile said.
Squishy fits in well with the family and now enjoys playing with Rascal and playfully jumping on everyone’s bare feet when they wiggle their toes, she said.
“She’s completely oil-free now, and when you hold her, she’s a real cutie,” Stamile said. “She’s becoming more and more sociable over time.”
It’s unknown how Squishy ended up trapped inside the recycling truck, but Stamile speculates that she may have been a feral kitten that climbed onto it after the driver’s earlier run.
Motta said he was happy that Stamile was able to take in Squishy.
“I don’t think I could get another cat right now because I already have a male cat at home,” he said. “His name is Stinky.”
