Sometimes picking up a pizza turns into a rescue mission.
"Yeah, buddy!"
All Amy wanted was a slice for dinner.
But when she saw Rita outside the pizza parlor, she knew her plans had changed.
It looked like Rita didn't have a home,
and no one was around to take care of her.
She'd lived her whole life in a pizza parlor parking lot.
Amy knew this wasn't a safe place for a cat
and that Rita needed to be rescued.
Amy hoped that Rita would come right home with her.
But Rita didn't seem to want to leave.
She liked the outside.
Day after day,
Amy kept trying to rescue Rita, but no luck.
Amy was determined to get this kitty into a safe, cozy home.
But as she was making her usual stop to attempt to rescue Rita,
things got a little more complicated when...
another fuzzy face appeared.
Pepperoni!
"Hi!"
He was one of Rita's kittens.
One cat was already hard enough,
and now Amy had two to rescue?!
Roni was super friendly, too.
But just like his mama, he wasn't looking for a new home either.
Amy started to wonder,
"Maybe these cats were fine on their own?"
Maybe she wasn't meant to rescue them.
But then winter came.
It was about to get very cold in town.
Too cold for these cats to be outside safely.
There was no time to lose.
These cats needed to be rescued.
Amy got in contact with an animal rescue program,
who gave her her own drop box.
A drop box is a box with a pulley system
that Amy could use to safely rescue Rita and Roni.
The pizza cats!
This plan had to work.
Time was running out.
That night, Amy went to the pizza parlor and set up the drop box.
And she watched and waited
as Rita and Roni started getting closer and closer to it.
She had to wait for the perfect opportunity.
OK, Rita's in the box.
Now we just need Roni.
Amy waited and waited.
Then all of a sudden...
"He's going, he's going."
"He's going."
"Tell me when she's all the way in."
"Pull, pull, pull."
She did it!
Amy was able to safely rescue Rita and Roni.
Now it was time to take them back
to her cozy, warm home.
But when they got there, Rita and Roni weren't as friendly as before.
They were scared.
Amy was so surprised.
Why would they be scared of her now?
But Rita and Roni weren't scared of Amy.
They were scared of this new place.
They'd probably never been inside a house before.
Amy wasn't sure what to do.
She knew that being in her
home was much better for them than being outside in the freezing cold.
But it seemed like these cats only wanted to be outside.
Then Amy had an idea.
She was going to build them their own "catio."
An outdoor playpen connected to the house
that Rita and Roni could go to freely.
But the first time they saw it, they were a bit confused.
They were like, "What is this weird contraption this lady built for us?"
"Am I supposed to go through here?"
But when Rita and Roni realized they could be outside
and still be warm, the catio became their favorite place!
And now they weren't scared.
The pizza cats were living their best life!
"Holding hands!"
All those months ago,
Amy had just been looking for a pizza.
But what was just a takeout order
turned into the ultimate rescue mission.
And she ended up getting something so much better:
two adorable, fuzzy babies.