Sometimes you just need the right man for the ‘purr-fect’ job.

And for one unlucky animal, she was just about to find out how much better life could be when you have someone who loves you.

Virginia police officer Timothy Rugg works with the Harrisonburg Police Dept. Last month he went out on a call about a tiny kitten being thrown out of a passing car’s window. 

“A cat had been thrown out of the window on Old Furnace Road and I showed up on the scene and found Penny underneath (an old) couch,” Rugg said.

She was super scared but when I picked her up, she just climbed right up to my shoulder … started purring and just wouldn’t let go.”

Officer Timothy Rugg poses with Penny, the cat he rescued at the Harrisonburg Police Dept. Photo courtesy of the police department

Knowing the kitten needed to be looked at, Rugg took her to the vet immediately. While they said they couldn’t take in any more cats because there was no space, they still gave the 3-month-old a quick checkup. The kitten, now named Penny-Farthing or Penny for short, had a bit of pink eye and was given meds to clear it up.

“I asked them right away if I could take her home. And they said OK, we gotta go through a foster process,” Rugg said.

So on a day that had already been special, since it was his wife’s birthday, he took Penny home with him.

“That was an interesting surprise for her,” he said.

Three weeks later, Rugg and his wife adopted the now thriving calico kitten.

Penny plays in her home with Rugg and his wife. Photo courtesy of Rugg

Rugg said she is no longer “very timid and shy’ and is “wild and rambunctious”. Penny loves cuddling, scratching, playing with water and inspecting the house plants.

Huck Nawaz, the executive director of the Rockingham Harrisonburg SPCA where Rugg took Penny, said, “It’s heartbreaking to think that someone chose to toss little Penny out of a car. Fortunately for her Officer Rugg was there to bring her to us. I guess they bonded on the ride over as she was already quite attached to him by the time they got here and he offered to foster her while she recovers.”

Rugg and Penny on the first day they met. Photo courtesy of Rugg

“This is one case of a ‘failed foster’ that we couldn’t be happier about,” Nawaz said.

I just felt like she wanted to be with me, and before that, I never saw myself owning a cat,” Rugg said. “And I just knew I had to take her with me.”

The pet has also had a positive impact on Rugg’s life. “She’s definitely making my days better and helping me relax. She’s great,” he said. However, he said he might avoid other cat runs on the job, “otherwise I’ll have a house full of cats.”

Watch below for a look at the kitten who got herself saved by a police officer.

Sources: Good Morning America | People