Postal worker Joseph Waldherr attributes $717K lotto win to kitten rescue

A Washington postal worker chalked up his $717,500 lotto windfall to a lucky kitten rescue. 

Tacoma deliveryman Joseph Waldherr arrived at work to pick up mail and packages to delivery when he heard the cries of a trapped kitten.

He couldn’t determine the small creature’s location, but when Waldherr returned the following day to hear more mewling, he managed to locate the fuzzy feline, which was trapped in a tight space. 

Waldherr tucked into the black-and-white kitten with peach-colored cheeks in his sweatshirt pocket and let it nap for the remainder of his shift. 

The successful rescue had Waldherr feeling like he was on a hot streak, and the deliveryman decided to stop by a convenience store on his way home for a Hit 5 lotto ticket. 

“I’m having a lucky day,” he recalled to KUOW. “Maybe I should buy a lottery ticket.”

A few days later, Waldherr checked the ticket with his wife and learned that he landed a windfall, raking in $717,500. 

Waldherr credited the jackpot to rescuing the kitten, whom he and his wife decided to keep and have named. “Peaches.”

He plans to save some of the winnings and use the rest to help his parents with their retirement and donate to charities. 

“My wife and I have everything we need. We just want to help others,” he said.