IF CATS COULD TALK…
The cats who were rescued from incredible situations.
The world was gripped when 33 Chilean miners were stuck underground for 68 days back in August 2010. After their dramatic rescue there were countless interviews where they told their amazing stories. But there are other tales of spectacular rescues where the personal viewpoint of those being rescued never gets to be recounted — because they are cats! If only they could talk then imagine the incredible stories they’d tell…
BETWEEN A WALL AND A HARD PLACE
Kevin mysteriously fell into an incredibly small gap between two homes in Middlesbrough. The black and white moggy was trapped in a tiny space, which measured just a few inches across, with his head quite firmly wedged between the brick walls.
“Kevin was quite distressed and was in this really small gap, just about 3in at one end, narrowing to 2in at the other end,” said RSPCA animal rescue officer Shane Lynn.
“He was screaming for help and his cries were heard by a neighbour who called us in.”
But Shane and firefighters from Cleveland Fire and Rescue couldn’t reach the frightened feline even with their specialist equipment. Shane, 26, said: “Kevin had fallen into such a tight gap his body was completely squashed. He couldn’t budge one way or the other. He really was unable to move and was obviously very frightened.We think he had been there for a couple of hours before the alarm was raised.”
In the house on one side of Kevin was an extension with a gas cooker right by his head — which would have needed to be removed to get to him — and on the other side was a garage. After checking the
safety of the wall, firefighters started to remove the bricks from the garage one at a time so that they didn’t hurt Kevin or make him even more frightened.
It then took two-and-a-half hours to rescue him and he was taken to the vet where he was examined and it was found that he had luckily escaped his ordeal with only a swollen leg, which could be treated easily with some anti-inflammatory drugs and pain relief. Kevin was happily reunited with his owner.
“He was completely wedged — he would never have got out on his own,” said Shane.“When his microchip was scanned, it turned out that he had not long moved to the area but we’ll never know what happened to him.”
Not only did Ollie fall 40ft but he was perched precariously on a small concrete ledge on the banks of the River Mersey in Birkenhead, with no way that the deaf tabby and white cat could escape.
There was no access at all from land, the light was fading, and the tide was starting to rise.The RSPCA called in Merseyside Fire and Rescue for help and its specialist marine rescue team used a boat to get close to the cat.Then one of the firefighters used a water sled to get right next to the frightened feline and safely get hold of him.
The one-year-old puss was then winched up the river wall in a cage and reunited with his happy owner, Emma Tarpey, where a quick check before he went to the vet’s showed that he was in one piece.
RSPCA Inspector Leanne Cragg said it was miraculous that Ollie had escaped without any injuries:“I had been very concerned for the cat’s safety as I knew the tide was about to come in and it gets very high in that area and it was also getting dark.
“As the firefighter got close, Ollie moved towards him and meowed, and was happy to get into his arms — he knew he was going to be safe. He is a very lucky cat. It was such a big fall and to come through the whole incident unscathed is amazing.”
His happy owner Emma, 26, said: “I think Ollie certainly lost one of his nine lives during this incident and as he doesn’t go out much, we are going to keep him as a house cat to protect him, especially as he is deaf.”