Rogue kittens shut down New York City subway lines

GlobalPost

In what has to be one of the cutest travel snafus in New York City history, two rogue kittens shut down Brooklyn's B and Q subway lines for over an hour Thursday, as staff staged a successful rescue mission. 

Almost certainly aware that kitten endangerment is the worst PR possible, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority decided to cut power to the entire B line and part of the Q line, so that workers could safely search for the cats near the dangerously electrified third rail. 

Read more from GlobalPost: Happy International Cat Day! 

The third rail packs a whopping 600 volts of electricity, wrote Pix11.com. “If you touch that third rail, you’re not going to make it — people and especially cats, anything that moves,” said MTA spokesman Kevin Ortiz. 

The kitten crisis appears to have begun early Thursday, after a woman reported that her kittens were loose in the subway system, reports the Associated Press.

Their adventure would last for seven hours, prompting many volunteers to help search for the adorable vagrants. Passengers were delayed, and a shuttle service was provided for points between the Q lines. 

Two cops eventually were able to corral the kittens and whisk them to safety, reports the New York Daily News. 

"The announcer said it had to stop to rescue some cats, subway rider Sandra Polel told the New York Daily News. "I didn't mind. I wanted to get home, but I also wanted the kittens to be safe."

More from GlobalPost: Hermes creates $13,000 basketball for LA store (VIDEO)

Sign up for our daily newsletter

Sign up for The Top of the World, delivered to your inbox every weekday morning.