Worker pulls kitten from trash compactor, saves New Jersey cat's life

All the kitten needed was a hero.

Mark Motta was that hero.

Motta works for the Burlington County Regional Recycling Program. On July 8, he was doing his normal routine in South Jersey when he saw a kitten covered in oil in his waste compactor.

The cat lover immediately sprung into action.

"I work for a recycling company and went to check my hydraulics and saw the kitten pinned in the back of the recycling trucks crasher covered in oil," Motta said in a Facebook message. "So I shut everything off and climbed in the back of the truck to get her."

Nothing good was going to happen to the kitten in the truck. But now, she's in great shape.

The kitty, now named Squishy, is being fostered by Samantha Stamile, another employee from the Burlington County Regional Recycling Program through Rise Again Animal Rescue.

The Hammonton-based rescue says its mission is to focus on the welfare of the most vulnerable, abandoned animals and that certainly was the case here.

But no more. She's now living the good life with Stamile.

She recently returned to the recycling program's office to say hi and snuggle with Motta. It was a perfect day for all.

"Squishy has been doing well after her adventures, and came back to the office today to officially meet her savior!" the rescue wrote on Facebook. "We don’t know how Squishy ended up in the recycling bin, but we are so glad she’s safe!"

The rescue isn't alone.

In fact, Motta was far more worried about Squishy than he was for any credit he'd get out of this heroic action.

"Just doing my part for the cats," he said. "Just want her to get a good home. She deserves it."

That's where the rescue comes in.

On top of covering the vet bills, Rise Again Animal Rescue is helping find the purrfect home for Squishy. The rescue agreed to take responsibility for the kitten after they were called and told of the sad situation, which now has a very happy ending.

"(We were told) Mark tried to clean her off with his safety vest," said Danielle McKibban, president of the rescue. "They brought her back to headquarters. He gave her multiple Dawn baths to try to get the oil off and took her to the vet. She had an upper respiratory infection. She was put on antibiotics and is doing well. Once she is big enough, she’ll be fixed/vaccinated/microchipped, and placed up for adoption."

While Squishy is safe, she still costs money.

The rescue covered the medical and will pay for future needs until she finds that forever home. If you'd like to help the nonprofit, donations are being accepted through Paypal or through its website.