NYC councilman saves shot, pregnant cat from side of freeway

WILLIAMSBURG -- A New York City Councilman from Williamsburg came to the rescue of a pregnant and wounded cat he saw dodging traffic on the BQE last Thursday.

Stephen Levin found the kitty, named Loretta, lumbering along the shoulder of the highway, suffering from a bullet wound.

"She is one tough cat," he said. "I kind of grabbed her under the arms, around the rib cage, and ran over to my car and put her in my car and shut the door."

Levin rushed her to his local animal shelter in Brooklyn, where workers quickly realized Loretta was in bad shape.

"The bullet that, we think, entered through her right side and wound up on the left side, so it did pass through," the vet technician said. "Not through the spinal cord, but close to the spine, so it seems like there is some damage there."

And the gunshot wasn't all.

"She has a lot of burns on her that need to be healed, and puncture wounds, lacerations," said Vinnie Spinola, of the Brooklyn Animal Resource Coalition.

And in addition to all the abuse, Loretta has a belly full of kittens. If all goes well, she'll deliver in about two weeks.

"She's doing a lot better," the technician said. "Every day, she seems to be more alert. Before, she wasn't eating very well, and we had to force feed her. But she's starting to eat a little bit on her own now."

Hopes are high for Loretta's full recovery, but it will take some time before she's ready for adoption. In the meantime, she can thank a heavy dose of resiliency and the heart of a city councilman for a new lease on life.