May 27--A 5-week-old kitten in Jurupa Valley may have used up one of its nine lives Tuesday after it was scooped up by a hawk and dropped in midflight from the sky.
Lindsey Gage of Jurupa Valley and her 6-year-old daughter were heading to the grocery store about 1 p.m. when she witnessed the improbable incident, according to Riverside County Animal Services.
The hawk was perched on a neighbor's basketball hoop when she saw the kitten in its grasp. The kitten's mother was on the ground below, hissing at the hawk, Gage said.
Seconds later, the hawk took off and flew down the street, still holding the kitten.
But at some point, the hawk lost its grasp, and the white furball dropped 12 to 15 feet from sky.
Luckily, the kitten landed safely.
"When I saw the whole thing happen, I turned my car around, drove and ran over to the little kitten, who was fine and was just meowing away on the ground," Gage said. "She was scared."
Gage gathered up the kitten and took it to a Riverside County animal shelter, where it was treated for a wound to its chest. The injury does not appear to be life-threatening, according to animal services.
