‘It’s like he knows he was saved’ says kitten rescuer
Duggie, “the most awesome little kitten”, will be soon be looking for a home after being rescued from a drainpipe in a critical condition.
SPCA Nelson Centre was called to a central Nelson business on January 25, where the team found the kitten’s head lodged in a drainpipe, unable to move.
SPCA feline attendant Carmen Torrance used dishwashing liquid to try and gently ease the kitten out of the pipe, but Duggie “just wouldn’t budge”.
“When I looked around the other side, I could see his little face ... he was making just really sad and distressing noises, and so it was decided that we would call the vet out,” Torrance said.
It was unknown how long the wild male kitten, thought to be 6 or 7 weeks old, had been stuck there.
“My thoughts are that the kitten has tried to run, got a fright, tried to run, and just saw a hole, thinking it could fit it’s body through, and then got stuck,” Torrance said.
“Little Duggie wouldn’t have understood that we were actually trying to help him at that stage.. he wouldn’t have been handled by human hands before.”
The vet soon arrived and Duggie was sedated to help his body relax and to ensure he wouldn’t feel pain, and the team was able to dislodge him before he was taken to a nearby vet in a critical condition.
Duggie had ulcers on his tongue, thought to be from the stress and trauma he endured. But the ulcers had since cleared up, and a vet assessment found no permanent damage.
“It was a really, really, lovely outcome, and I tell you what, he is the most awesome little kitten,” Torrance said.
“It’s like he knows he was saved. He’s purring, he’s playing, he’s just adorable, and if I didn’t have two male cats of my own, he would be coming home with me.”
Now in the care of SPCA’s Nelson Centre, Duggie would go into a foster home and be desexed, before the centre found a him a permanent home.
“He’s an amazing little character now, and you know when a kitten’s happy because they play, they groom themselves. “He’s got a much better future ahead of him.”