TRAGIC ENDING FOLLOWING MAJOR CAT RESCUE
A ‘frantic’ call went out on Friday last for what became a major rescue mission for a cat named Milo who became trapped inside a pipe at the Crann Ard building site in Fermoy.
Gardaí, fire services and My Lovely Horse Rescue in Cobh attended the scene of the incident on March 5 after the call for help was put out by the O’Leary family, who had attempted ‘for hours’ to dig the cat out but failed to reach her.
Neighbours and locals also attended, including Anna O’Connor and Trisha Coughlan of Fermoy Street Arts and Laura Mallon of a local cat and dog rescue group.
According to Anna, an appeal for help in the rescue had gone out online which saw the Fermoy Street Arts members attend with equipment to help catch the cat.
“We made equipment to help catch her because we had pipes and stuff from making puppets but it was too short. The Gardaí did try already, but the cat was over 3 metres down the pipe and it didn’t work,” Anna said.
Gardaí had arrived on the scene at around lunchtime, however, the cat was not rescued from the pipe until around 1am with the assistance of Fermoy Fire Brigade, Anna claimed.
‘AMAZING’ EFFORT
A statement issued by Gardaí noted: “The cat was rescued and taken to a vet as a precaution.”
Gardaí and members of the Fermoy Fire Brigade were thanked in an online statement shared by the My Lovely Horse Rescue for their assistance in the rescue: “Sergeant Roger and Garda Emily and Michael who battled with the family to get Milo out and stayed with them to the end, all the amazing guys from Fermoy Fire Brigade without whom little Milo would never have been rescued. They dug with trowels, pickaxes and their hands for over two hours until they finally reached Milo.
“But the poor little cat had been trapped for so long and was covered in mud and freezing by the time she was out. She sadly passed away early Saturday morning. We are just so grateful that she died in the warmth of the vet’s surgery and that she saw her family one last time. We can’t thank her rescuers enough for giving her this respect and love,” the statement read.