A young orange tabby named Garfield is defying the odds after surviving what veterinarians now believe was at least a week trapped on Long Island Rail Road tracks, including being hit by a train, before a coordinated rescue saved his life. ABC7 New York first reported the story.
Garfield was initially spotted near the Lindenhurst station by an engineer on Saturday night, who thought the cat was dead. When the same engineer passed through again around 7 p.m. on Sunday, he noticed something shocking: Garfield moved his head. Realizing the cat was alive, he called for help.
MTA officials briefly shut off power to the rails so officers and rescuers could reach Garfield safely. Working with local rescue expert John DeBacker from Long Island Cat Kitten Solution, the team carefully distracted Garfield so DeBacker could secure him with a net.
Garfield was rushed to Cat Kitten Solution and then to the Animal Surgical Center, where veterinarians found the full extent of his injuries and the likely duration of his ordeal. Dr. Thomas Infernuso, who performed Garfield’s surgery, said the cat’s wounds were necrotic and infected, showing he had been trapped for at least a week before being rescued.
The injuries were serious: two broken hind legs, a shattered front leg, and a nasal fracture so deep it nearly reached the wall between his sinus and brain. Dr. Infernuso spent four hours repairing the damage.
Despite everything he went through, Garfield amazed his medical team with his will to live. Just three hours after surgery, he began eating, a sign, according to his surgeon, that he had probably been starving for days. Staff described him as gentle, calm, and grateful for help, with no signs of aggression even while in pain.
Rescuers say Garfield’s resilience has been impressive. “This cat is a miracle,” one overnight doctor told ABC7.
Garfield now faces a long rehabilitation, but his outlook is hopeful. Once he has healed, rescuers plan to find him a loving forever home where he can enjoy the safe, peaceful life he deserves, and hopefully use his remaining eight lives for nothing but comfort and care.
