Meet Gretchen Byrne, a police officer in Coral Springs, Florida. This kindhearted cop has made it her mission to save and foster every kitten she finds while out on patrol.
Byrne started rescuing cats two years ago. One night, she was taking a coffee break while out on patrol. Suddenly, a pregnant cat came up to her car, looking for food. The cat desperately needed help, and so Byrne brought the cat over to the police station. After she finished her shift, she brought the cat home and put a message on Instagram asking if anyone could foster her.
After that, people started contacting Byrne to ask for help with stray cats they’d seen on the streets.
“People started contacting me about stray cats they’d found,” Byrne told PEOPLE Pets, “and I started noticing a lot of stray cats when I’d patrol the alleys behind businesses. I’d leave out food for them and then take those that I could with me and put them up for adoption via Instagram.”
Byrne has now saved over 65 kittens and cats. Because of that, she has been given the nickname ‘cat cop.’
Byrne also has five cats of her own at home. These sweet cats are always very welcoming to their mom’s new foster kittens!
After years of rescuing cats, Byrne has worked out a whole system.
She’ll put the rescued cat in one of her carriers. Then, she’ll keep the carrier in the women’s locker room until her shift has ended and she can bring them to her house. Once she’s home, she takes photos of the cat and puts it up for adoption.
Byrne has also worked out the best times to feed the cats:
“Instead of taking lunch breaks with my colleagues, I use that time to feed the cats,” she says, “and sometimes, I’ll take them up to the dispatchers, who have very stressful jobs and could use some kitten therapy.”
Byrne often posts photos of the kittens she’s fostering on her Instagram page. Since she started fostering cats, her page has become hugely popular, and it now has over 39,000 followers. Everyone loves seeing Byrne’s photos and videos of her cute cats!
Byrne loves all the cats she fosters, but one cat’s story particularly touched her heart. She found the little kitten on a construction site, and she quickly fell in love with him:
“He was born on a construction trailer and he had a rough start,” she says. “But everybody is now rooting for me to keep him and it looks like that’s the direction I’m heading. It’s hard to say ‘no’ when you have a soft heart.”
Byrne is doing an amazing job looking after these cats and kittens who have no one else in the world. If you want to see more photos of the cats Byrne has rescued, check out her Instagram page.
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