There is a lot of bad news in the world these days, which is probably why a tiny orange kitten has managed to win over the internet.
According to the Indiana State Police Lowell Post, Sgt. Jamerson and Trooper Galvan-Jones spotted the frightened kitten in the median of Interstate 94 near Grant Street. While troopers are usually busy helping stranded motorists and responding to crashes, they made an exception for this particularly small hitchhiker. The officers safely rescued the kitten and, thankfully, the story gets even better from there.
Indiana State Police said the little guy has already found a new home with someone who will take excellent care of him.
It’s the kind of story that would normally have disappeared on social media for a few hours before everyone moved on. Instead, the post quickly filled with comments as readers shared name suggestions, rescue stories, and plenty of jokes about the kitten’s future in law enforcement.
The Internet Had Plenty of Ideas for the Tiny Hitchhiker
The overwhelming favorite name suggestion was “Trooper.” In fact, dozens of commenters independently suggested the same name, while others proposed Grant, Lucky, Highway, Indy, Copper, and even Mayhem. Several readers argued that the kitten should become the department’s official mascot, while one commenter proposed making him part of a “Fe-9 Unit.”
Others imagined a future career for the kitten inside the department. “Looks like you found a new dispatcher!! Good luck with training lol!!!” one commenter wrote. Another joked that Trooper Galvan-Jones wasn’t the one who rescued the kitten at all, writing, “I think Trooper Galvan-Jones may have been adopted.”
Not everyone was focused on names. Many commenters shared stories about rescuing cats they found near highways and busy roads. One reader said they rescued a kitten from Interstate 94 months ago. Another recalled finding a cat near Interstate 70 that is still part of their family more than a decade later. Several others described similar experiences, suggesting that highway rescues often become permanent family members.
A few readers even questioned how the kitten ended up in the median in the first place. Rather than assuming the worst, some speculated the kitten may have accidentally hitched a ride underneath a vehicle before finding itself stranded along the interstate. “I doubt someone dropped him in the median; more likely it’s a barn cat that accidentally hitched a ride under someone’s car and ended up falling out,” one commenter wrote.
Whatever journey brought the kitten to Interstate 94, everyone seemed to agree on one thing: he got exceptionally lucky. If a tiny orange kitten can survive an interstate median, charm a pair of state troopers into stopping for him, and end the day with a new forever home, “Lucky” might be the most accurate name suggestion of all.