2nd Kitten Found Inside Lincoln Tunnel In Two Weeks

LINCOLN TUNNEL — For the second time in the past two weeks, a tiny kitten has somehow made its way into the Lincoln Tunnel. The frightened kitten was found Tuesday inside a shaft in the south tube of the Lincoln, and it was rescued by a Port Authority police officer and a tunnel agent. The kitten has since been adopted and is doing well.

But this is the second kitten discovered in the Lincoln's zooming lanes of traffic in the past two weeks. When asked by Patch, Port Authority spokeswoman Lenis Rodrigues said the agency could not comment on how the cats are entering the Lincoln Tunnel, or where they are coming from.

As we reported, the first cat was found Wednesday, Aug. 28 inside the tunnel. This latest cat was found Tuesday, Sept. 10. In both cases they are kittens, a male and a female. The first was found closer to the New York side, and the kitten this week was found closer to the Jersey entrance.

In this latest incident, the kitten, pictured above, was found just before 4 p.m. this past Tuesday.

The driver of an NJ Transit bus in the south tube of the tunnel said he saw a tan kitten on the roadway, and watched as the cat crawled into the tube’s curb ventilation shaft.

Port Authority Police Officer Chris Rothenburger, who was on patrol at the time, encountered the bus stopped with its door open. When the driver told Rothenburger what he saw, the police officer immediately went looking for the kitten.

After a few seconds, he found the scared kitten inside the shaft on the New Jersey side of the tunnel. With the assistance of Port Authority Tunnel and Bridge agent Eric Bardach, they were able to safely pull the kitten out. The kitten was then taken to the Lincoln Tunnel administration building where it was fed and given water. It was adopted by Port Authority Police Officer Krystal Armenti, who is a foster care provider for the ASPCA. She named her Penny.

Less than two weeks prior, as Patch reported, on Wednesday, Aug. 28 another cat was found inside the Lincoln Tunnel. In that incident it was found much closer to the New York entrance.

A driver called in to say they noticed the small, terrified kitten curled up on the catwalk — of all places — about 400 feet inside the tunnel from the New York City entrance.

That kitten was in the center tube, which holds all the commuter bus traffic coming into Manhattan. It was discovered at about 9:30/10 a.m. that day, just after the morning rush hour had finished. It was rescued by Port Authority workers, and then adopted by Port Authority Tunnel and Bridge agent Chris Kerrigan, who named him Abe, for Abraham Lincoln after where he was found.

Initial Patch report: Port Authority Worker Adopts Kitten Rescued From Lincoln Tunnel (Aug. 29, 2019)