Watch This Texas Woman Face Her Fear of Heights to Rescue a Kitten Perched on Bridge’s Ledge
Best of all, Nicole Toney adopted Ducky into her growing pet family. By Austin Cannon January 13, 2022 Advertisement Pin FB More Tweet Email Send Text Message Print
Lounging in her new home with her new dog and cat siblings, Ducky the cat sure has a lot to be thankful for—specifically her new mom's bravery, digestive fortitude, and lunch break timing.
Back in November, Ducky was cowering on the ledge of the Veteran's Memorial Bridge in Texas, more than 100 feet above the Neches River and feet away from speeding vehicles. That's when Nicole Toney spotted her, looped her car around, pulled over, and faced her substantial fear of heights to scoop the kitty off the ledge.
Toney captured the hair-raising rescue in a video she posted to TikTok late last week. So far, it's earned more than 14.5 million views.
"[I] legitimately felt like I was going to puke the entire time," Toney says in a follow-up video.
cat rescued from bridge Credit: Courtesy of nicoletoney / TikTok
Toney posted seven videos to her TikTok account (nicoletoney) that explain how she saved Ducky—so named because she's a "lucky duck." It all began on her lunch break.
She'd gone to her Bridge City, Texas home during her break and was crossing the bridge—which sits more than 140 feet above the river—on her way back to work. That's when she noticed a bird near the ledge and the nearby kitten. Unable to stop then, she took four minutes to loop back around.
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Back on the bridge, she pulled over onto the shoulder. It was a windy day, she says, with cars zipping by doing around 70 mph. Objectively scary, but she had a job to do.
"I couldn't leave her there. That would've been terrible. I couldn't live with myself if I had just left her there," Toney says on TikTok.
Even though she was "petrified," Toney grabbed Ducky's neck to immobilize her and carried her back to the car. She called her husband, who told her to get Ducky some food and litter before they decided what to do with her. How she got on the bridge is still unknown, but Toney mentioned some people will abandon their animals in the area.
They decided to keep Ducky, and she joined their clan of five dogs and two cats—all rescues. She fits in well with them—especially with her golden retriever sibling—but she is a little skittish, so Toney secured a bell to her collar for when she decides to hide.
Sadly, one of Toney's other cats, Mabel, ran away two years ago, leaving the other cat, her brother Nigel, alone.
"[That's] why I pretty much knew the second I snatched her off the bridge that we were gonna keep her because she also looks a lot like Mabel," Toney says.
