On September 7, moments before teaching her next class, Lower School Art teacher Ms. Val Trimarchi, better known as Ms. T, was in the State Street Parking Lot when she heard a faint meow. At first, Ms. T was confused by the unfamiliar sound, but she continued to search for the noise when she realized it was a kitten. Immediately, Ms. T took action and searched for the kitten until she found it in an unlikely place. 

Her next step was to call Marcus Randolph, Campus Safety Officer, to notify him that the noises were coming from his car. 

After realizing that there was a cat in his car, Marcus began to devise a plan on how to get the cat out safely. “The first thought that came to my mind was, ‘Oh no, who do I call to come get this cat out,’ and I thought of Erica St. John, cause she has the most pets, ever,” Marcus said. 

Once Service and Community Engagement Coordinator Ms. St. John arrived, she called Luis Sanchez, a Maintenance staff member, to bring a car jack to see where the cat was. After examining the bottom of Marcus’ car, they could see that the cat was in the engine. 

Ms. St. John explained that it was not completely out of the norm for cats to go into car engines to stay warm. For instance, during the winter, stray cats will sleep under cars at night. However, the urgency of the situation was exacerbated by the fact that it was already very hot outside.

Working quickly, Ms. St. John sent a text to her Student Service Representatives pleading for turkey in order to coax the cat out from its hiding spot. 

Thankfully, Audrey B. ’25 immediately helped join the kitten-saving cause. “I ran to the Commons and asked Brandon for some turkey because it was the end of lunch, and Rysie (Y. ’25) and I sprinted to the State Street Parking Lot where the cat was still stuck in the car,” Audrey explained.

After rushing towards the parking lot, Audrey was then asked to prepare to call 911 in case Ms. St. John couldn’t get the cat out of the car.

Luckily, Ms. St. John was able to dangle the turkey underneath the car where she then picked up the cat. “I grabbed the cat really fast and he was biting and scratching me, but I grabbed him and I wrapped him up in my shirt and I brought him up [to the Treehouse],” Ms. St. John said. 

Over the span of 25 minutes, four faculty and staff members had been called to help, a student joined their efforts, and a 911 call had almost been dialed all to save the cat. 

Once the cat had finally been saved, everyone thought it was only fitting that the cat be named after the person who prioritized the safety of the cat over his car, Marcus. 

“They actually named the cat after me, his name is Marcus, and I saw the cat. We took pictures and everything. I am super excited to have an animal named after me. And I am glad we saved the cat,” Marcus said. 

If you would like to help pay for Marcus’ (the cat) vet bill, Ms. St. John would appreciate it if you could donate to Singer Sanctuary, a non-profit organization helping rescue abandoned, neglected, and abused animals.