“She was absolutely in a panic and said, ‘I didn’t know what to do,’” Cairns said. “There was a cat on the highway stuck against the wall.”
The sergeant assumed the cat would be gone by the time he arrived but circled back to where the woman saw the cat near where U.S. 35 and I-75 intersect.
“On the inside wall there’s this little gray cat hunched up against the wall,” Cairns said.
As he approached the cat, he realized it had an injury on its back near the tail, so he put gloves on before trying to pick it up.
A self-professed animal lover, Cairns said he previously had cats and currently owns two dogs, so he put his hand out to the cat to show he was friendly.
“It didn’t move at all, so that kind of told me right away that something’s wrong,” Cairns said.
Cairns placed the cat in his police cruiser and transported it to the Humane Society of Greater Dayton to be evaluated.
Dayton police confirmed the cat, who the humane society named Brie, doesn’t have any broken bones, but does have some internal injuries.
The humane society said in an update on social media that Brie is on pain medication and her wounds are being treated at the Dayton Humane Veterinary Hospital.
Brie is not microchipped.
Cairns said he was grateful the woman stopped him so he could get the cat to safety.
“I do think that if we hadn’t gotten the cat off the highway it probably would not have ended well for the cat,” he said.
Cairns was participating in a joint traffic detail on I-75 and Interstate 70 with the Ohio State Highway Patrol and Huber Heights and Vandalia police departments when the cat was discovered.
While the speed limit is 55 mph in that area, he said there were vehicles going as fast as 80 mph.
Though it’s not a daily occurrence, Cairns said it’s common for Dayton police to receive calls about animals on the highway, particularly dogs.
It’s concerning for police because some people may end up crashing if they swerve to avoid an animal or could get hurt if they stop and try to rescue the animal without the equipment and lighting police have, the sergeant explained.
Cairns encouraged anyone who sees animals loose on the highway to call police.
He also encouraged pet owners to microchip their pets so they can be reunited if their dog or cat gets loose.
The humane society, Animal Resource Center and Dayton police have microchip readers. If police come across loose cats or dogs, they can check for a chip and hopefully return them to their owner, Cairns said.
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