Thanks to its 12-year-old coon cat, a Maine family that pulled off of the Merritt Parkway on Saturday ended up staying in New Canaan longer than planned, officials say.
Red (with white) male Maine Coon cat with shaded golden (with white) male Maine Coon cat By Krh315 – Own work, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=6925482
At about 10:43 a.m. on Oct. 15, the Florida-bound family pulled off of the parkway at the rest stop near Exit 37 and its cat—on a leash and harness, and loose in the car—managed to snap the leash and scamper off up the hill toward the state highway shed, according to a police report.
The male cat, an 18-pounder named Mittens, found his way beneath one of the Connecticut Department of Transportation’s outbuildings and could not be reached, the report said.
Strangely, the family told officials that they intended to continue on to Florida—members of the Animal Control section of the New Canaan Police Department urged them to get a hotel room instead, and supplied a Havahart-brand trap.
The family stayed, the report said.
The trap could not be set overnight, according to Officer Allyson Halm, head of Animal Control, because it would likely catch wildlife instead of the desired cat.
Mittens’s owner signed an agreement with police and, at some point before sunset, the cat emerged of his own accord, according to the report.
The family, made whole, continued its journey south.
Thank you, Ms. Hamm, for encouraging this family to do the right thing by Mittens. And thank you to this family for caring more about saving Mittens than their own convenience.
I believe this matter was handled by Animal Control Officer Diane Apicelli in consultation with Officer Allyson Halm—sorry, should have noted that in our article.