'Paulie was meowing his head off'
Owner grateful as Newfoundland Power rescues cat from utility pole in pouring rain
Carmella Gray-cosgrove of St. John’s was putting her one-year-old son to bed Tuesday evening when she received a text message from a neighbour that seemingly solved the mystery surrounding her pet, Paulie. The three-year-old cat had not been seen for 12 hours and Gray-cosgrove was hoping a post to social media might develop some leads.
It was an unexpected endpoint to her cat’s disappearance — Paulie had scaled a telephone pole and was perched on top of it.
Fortunately, by the end of the evening Gray-cosgrove and her family were reunited with their freezing feline friend, all thanks to the help of two Newfoundland Power employees.
“They were wet, they were cold, and they were off at midnight, so this was the last call of the night — and they were just so nice and friendly,” she told The Telegram. “They were just so sweet.”
Gray-cosgrove let Paulie out of her home in downtown St. John’s about 7 o’clock that morning, just as she does most days.
“Usually when I call him, he comes right back,” she said, noting multiple attempts later that morning failed to garner a response.
By late afternoon, Graycosgrove decided to take a walk around the neighbourhood to search for Paulie, looking over fences and checking streets, all the while calling out his name. Shortly after getting home from the hour-long walk, she posted about Paulie to social media, hoping others might help find him.
“I was pretty sure something had happened to him, because he was not in any of his usual haunts,” she said.
Gray-cosgrove was putting her son to bed when she received the text message about
Paulie, so her partner, David Mandville, went outside to investigate.
“Sure enough, there he was, 60 feet in the air,” she said.
TUNA TEMPTATION
Mandville attempted to coax Paulie down from the pole with a can of tuna, but it quickly became apparent the cat would need help getting down.
“It was a huge jump, and there were electrical wires and telephone wires and branches and a fence,” Graycosgrove explained. “It would have been a hard jump to make.”
As Gray-cosgrove made a failed attempt of her own to coax Paulie down from the pole, heavy rain started pouring down. Soaking wet, she went inside and started making phone calls. The City of St. John’s recommended contacting the fire department and Newfoundland Power. A call to the latter got the ball rolling on a rescue for Paulie, with the Newfoundland Power truck showing up shortly after 11 p.m.
“They brought their huge ladder, and it was totally muddy — it was soaking out. I was wearing a parka and it was soaking wet. We were totally drenched, and the ground was complete muck. … Paulie was meowing his head off.”
Gray-cosgrove could not say enough nice things about the Newfoundland Power employees, who used a water-proof bag to bring the cat down from the pole.
“One guy climbed up the pole and hoisted this bag up and at the very top was just so sweet and gentle with Paulie,” she said. “(He) coaxed him into the bag and then zipped it up and lowered the bag down to me. I unzipped it and pulled him out — this shivering little wet rat.”
Once inside, Paulie enjoyed some tuna and subsequently fell asleep. He continued to sleep through most of Wednesday, rising only for periodic snacks.
“He’s grounded,” Graycosgrove said with a laugh.
It was a nerve-racking experience, but also somewhat of a welcome diversion from the doldrums of the COVID19 lockdown.
“Having to call an entire crew to come rescue him in the middle of a pandemic — it was totally ridiculous. But everyone was so friendly. Honestly, it’s the most fun I’ve had in several months. It had a clear goal that was completely distracting and I didn’t have to think about the state of the world.”