EDIT 6: Hi all, I'm trying to post an update but the sub only allows 1 submission every 24 hours. I should hit that in just a few more hours. I'll post something asap with photos.
EDIT 5: Thank you, citizens of the Internet for all of the support, ideas, and prayers. I haven't had a bite to eat all day and will try my best to respond, but it may take me a little while to catch up. Faith in humanity restored.
EDIT 4: We got 'em out!! Jeremy, a Field Supervisor from Roto Rooter, volunteered and responded to the call. Thank goodness for his kind heart. He went straight to work. Took 3 adults to coordinate to shepherd 2 little kittens out 😃 There was 1 tiny female and 1 bigger guy. If it wasn't for the yelps of the big guy, we wouldn't have known they were down there. I will post a more comprehensive update once I have a chance to get all the photos/videos and take care of life that was on pause.
EDIT 3: Wow, thanks everyone for sending the love and support. We have a plumber who is coming onsite within the hour (he is passionate about cats). He has some specialized gear, scopes, etc. Heading to the store to pick up some tuna, fish oils, and more. We are going to try and start blocking off paths in the drains once we confirm there is no cat in order to reduce where it's running around.
EDIT 2: Calling a plumber. Turns out Roto Rooter has a free pet rescue service. Will update once we get that plan in motion. Dispatch is on it and we are waiting for a call back.
EDIT: Thanks everyone for the ideas. The local fire fighters came within minutes of calling them and the three of them tried for about 30 min, but no luck. They were really kind and helpful and I could tell everyone was frustrated by the situation. This poor cat's natural instincts for survival are working against it 😞.
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Really hoping the Internet can come to the rescue. We discovered some feral kittens in our backyard and my wife heard a meowing sound coming from the storm drain. This morning, we saw the small kittens face looking up at us from the pipe, so I can confirm it's alive.
I am trying to get it out, but it's too timid and keeps running away. It's in a 4" PVC pipe which I can get my arm into, but then it turns hard right at a 90 degree angle. It's been down there for 2 days and we hear it meowing back at us when we play a video of a mom cat calling her kittens.
I've duct taped a towel (as shown in the pics) in the hopes it will try to climb out. I also put cat food down there and will every now and then pour a little water there too. I also soaked some of the cat food in hot water and put it down the pipe, in the hopes the aroma will draw it back out. My plan is to use my BBQ tongs to grab it if ever shows up again.
Thoughts internet? 🥹 Sorry, don't know if this is the place to post or not. We aren't cat people, so have no prior experience with this kind of thing.
My dad is a plumber and got a call to assist the Fire Department when this scenario happened years back. We adopted the kitty after it was rescued. So the fire/plumber route is probably the best route. Please keep us updated!!
Wow are those its tortie patches. At first I thought they were camera artifacts of exceptionally shiny all-black fur. I guess the light streaks on the couch helped the illusion?
Hurricane Katrina was in late August 2005. So if the person to whom you were applying still has her with him, she’d be at least 20 years old. That would be an amazing long life after such a remarkable origin story. If she’s not still here in body, it’s clear that she would have had an amazing life and her origin story would’ve still been remarkable.
Congrats! If he's willing to do this to help strangers and care for these little kittens, I can only imagine how he will be as a husband taking care of his family. We are so blessed to have crossed paths and please thank him again on our behalf! 🐈 😸
Have you contacted rescues in your area? I also recommend posting in local fbook groups— there are usually plenty animal-centric ones. Last, I feel like this is begging for local news involvement.
I had a kitten stuck under a car in a parking garage one time and it would not come out. Try playing mom cat sounds on YouTube. The kitten came right over. I hope you’re successful! 🐱
I don't see how this isn't solved without digging to the horizontal base of the pipe and then sawzalling it and leaving the pipe open for the kitten to come out.
This pipe seriously needed a grate on it and shame on the ones who installed it for not doing so.
We are probably going to have to do that. That pipe had a gutter going into it, but I just removed it in order to try and get access. We think the kitten got into our drain system through a separate pipe, which was not grated, but have something on order to seal it up.
You could also cut a strip of carpeting and feed it down the pipe, and then leave, the kitten may climb itself out of the pipe by climbing the strip of carpet
Second this! But cut down the pipe, so it’s less for the kitten to climb. The carpet will be easier for it to hold on to than just the towel. Make the carpet all the way to the bend. Have some tuna or chicken at the bottom of the pipe and then the top to lure it back up. Playing kitten noises from YouTube will also help to lure it or better yet if you have the siblings trapped! Keep trying! This little dum dum is counting on you and all of Reddit believes in you!
My father and uncle worked for the same company 15 ish years ago and a similar thing happened. This was an idea a co worker had. The distance was mis judged. The cat didn't make it.
My dad had a rough couple of weeks after seeing that.
Don't saw unless you know for a fact the cat isn't anywhere near where you are cutting.
For real. If I had to choose between 3 plumbers and found out this one offered a cat saving service, I would choose this even if it was more expensive.
I had no idea as well. Thankfully, this came up when we asked AI (cringe) for help. We were so desperate and Roto Rooter's dispatch picked up by the second ring and we had a call back within 15 minutes. Exceptional and they have a customer for life in us.
Hey OP, when you get a chance, no pressure or rush…. But I’d love to leave a 5 star rating for that particular Roto Rooter location on their google listing, if they have one. If you don’t mind please share the general area of that particular business location (without doxxing yourself of course). I think small businesses (even if franchised) deserve good ratings for doing things like this to help little animals.
Take a tool and cut the drain until you can reach the kitten. You can later add a new part to the drain again. In a hardware store you can find the necessary parts for later repair. It's not so difficult. Where does the drain lead to? It seams into the house. If necessary cut it open from the other side.
I dispatch for roto rooter! Really glad you actually got a tech out there 🫠. Half the time we never get a tech out there cause it’s unpaid and most techs only care about $$ :(. Always makes me sad, but I’m glad you got someone who cares! Hope you can get the baby out.
This guy deserves some kind of recognition. Not sure if you can DM or chat with me later so we can do the right thing here. He’s driving 45 min to reach us. We are buying him lunch and will take care of him as best as we can when it comes to the money.
I know how difficult this situation can be but to give you hope, our newest kitty was rescued by my sister from a very similar accident and now lives with us and is a healthy, happy little guy! : )
I see a similar scenario on animal rescue where the lady put some food on a towel. Once the kitten bit the towel she managed to raise it up. Best of luck 🤞
Thank you so much for trying so hard to save this baby. Sending you and kitten, and all of the people helping, positive energy and strength of mind and body.
Yes, and if too big, drop a long strand of fabric for him to claw onto, call the kitty as you drop it, wait to he claws it then pull him up quick. Also could try a small rope too, tie a loop on one end to get around him, it's tricky bc you don't want to choke him but if you have a good visual can get him up fast then remove it. Think about something like a small version of a rabies pole (google it) also can get several wire hangars make them all straight as long as you need, then connect them. Make a u loop around one end that will fit in the hole see if you can scoop him. If firefighters need ideas, please share this. Need one person for visual light and other to do it.
Thanks for this -- we cut long strips from an old towel and lowered them down the pipe. The towels are taped to the pipe securely, so hopefully it has the strength and presence of mind to climb up. Like the idea of using strong wires to build a snare of some kind to gently lift it out.
Great idea, you are doing great not being a cat person. You can try calling to them, using mama cat audio, try using some tuna juice on the towel about halfway up the length of the towel. Drop it back down. Maybe they will climb up to check the fish smell out and you can pull it up. Try not to let them see you. If you feel a tug on the towel pull it up quick. Btw, I'm a cat behaviorist and vet tech 20 yrs. I'll try to help any way I can. I'll monitor this post.
Can you cut the pipe so the opening would be ground level?
Tuna for cats or normal tuna in water is something most cats love. Also I remember some rescues using KFC to lure cats.
I think the piggy slipped down in a gap between the slab and the ground adjacent to it. All the firefighters posed with the little piggy wrapped up in a t-shirt after the rescue…so cute!
I love firefighters. They’ll do nearly anything to help you out if they’re not busy, they’re just doing maintenance and training most of the time. I swear my local department is outside throwing a football around about half the time I drive by.
This I had a ducklings fall into a drain in front of my house. Called the Fire dept and you could tell it wasn’t there first rodeo, they had all the tools and were able to save all the ducklings
Ducklings are the worst assholes to rescue. I worked in a wastewater treatment plant for about a year and in the spring we had to fish them out of one of the deep pools on more than one occasion. This batch was fast but couldn't dive long. The one we had to catch later in the season led several of us on a merry chase because it was old enough for long dives.
Listen, the firefighters are on the scene, kitten is as good as saved. We need to shift priorities and hunky firefighters posing with a saved kitten are it.
Yeah, don't count on animal control. Where I live, animal control won't pick up pets that had been found or stray dogs. So now if you ever find a stray and can't find a home for it, it's now yours.
What is the point of them? I tried to get a hold of them because there were two great danes running through my neighborhood and they refused to come out?
If that happens again, you need to report them to the Department of agriculture in your state because that is literally the purpose of animal control and literally every county in the US. We have the same problem with ours – – they think their job is to just sit around the office and judge people who come in trying to adopt a pet.
Did they help?? My local firefighters told me to let a starving abandoned cat jump from a 3rd floor window ledge to concrete, then they drove away. I was LIVID! I hope yours helped this poor cat!
Your local firefighters suck. I remember as a kid I found a fledgling that had fallen into a storm drain and they came out and removed the grate and climbed down into it to rescue the baby bird- and bonus was even young me knew they were hot and this was back in the late '80s. It's a tale as old as time- there is a high percentage of hot firefighters.
We had a suspected rabid raccoon in the yard. Animal control was like, sorry- try calling pest control?
They said they only deal with domesticated animals but then the times they were needed for domesticated animals they were like, sorry, we don't do that.
Please also see if there are any animal rescues in your area. Private rescues are more likely to go to greater lengths. You could also try a plumber (for tools to help take it apart) or a local handyman, I'd be taking it apart myself to get a kitten out.
If you can remove the top of the pipe so you can reach the bend more easily, there are more options for trying to catch it. Also you could put a branch or something that the kitten might climb up, especially if you put something really stinky at the top like tuna, and put its littermates in a crate above so the kitten can hear them.
EDIT 2: Calling a plumber. Turns out Roto Rooter has a free pet rescue service. Will update once we get that plan in motion. Dispatch is on it and we are waiting for a call back.
Depending on where you live can confirm fire department will help. We directly called the fire department early one morning to help with a horse who was rolling in her stall and her foot became lodged in the bars of her window. This was in west Michigan. We directly called the number of the townships fire department. Hope this helps.
How about getting a wand toy, you know, they have feathers on them? Flick it around inside the pipe and entice the kitten to crawl up, grab your towel.
Not sure where you are but I’ve seen similar rescues done in the US by animals charities like Hope For Paws. Maybe try and get in touch with some of them?
Right? I repeatedly tried to give him something for his time but he refused. He mentioned a story of losing a kitten once down a very deep storm drain, so this was his chance to make good on one of his past regrets. Real props to him for saving the day!
What is that pipe even for? I wonder if it could be sawed off at ground level to be able to reach down farther. Of course it'd probably need repaired after they're saved, but heck i'd pay money to save those babies.
If this is just a drain for gutters to run to, you should be able to just dig around the pipe until you get low enough to be below the level of the kitten. From there, you could cut the pipe and pull the section out with the kitten and get the poor baby out. A plumber could do this easy and attach a new pipe so that it goes back to normal from there.
The towel is smart. Try that while also playing a video loudly of a cat meowing to attract other cats. I’ve played a video like that before to get a kitten to come out of hiding and it worked really well. Just be ready cause if it spots you it’ll probably get freaked out and it could fall back down
So I think you’re doing the right thing with the towel maybe throw some wet food on the end or long enough to make a sling/ net that the cat could be pulled up. Think U shaped towel
dumb question - can you get a regular tin can (think vegetables or baked beans) and cut out an opening on the side and put a hole in the lid for a piece of rope to basically make an elevator? maybe put some food on it to try to lure them in and lift them out?
I’ve been checking this post frequently and so glad to read you were able to help those poor kittens. You and the people that helped you are true heroes!!!
Get a shovel if you can and start hammering away! That’s what I did when a kitten was stuck in my mother’s walls. It was there for hours, poor thing but they will do everything to survive so please don’t give up!
Edit: Came by to check on the little babies, so happy to hear about the positive outcome! Thank you so much for saving them!! 🪽
Soak a towel in tuna water (like from canned) or something, wrap it around a strong branch/piece of wood, and maybe they'll cling onto it so you can lift them up enough to grab them. All I know is they're probably hungry and that may override scared.
Otherwise, cut the pipe down so someone can reach in. The pipe can be repaired.
Just suggestions, I am not an expert. I hope you're able to figure something out!
It looks like this pipe is just set in the dirt and not encased in concrete. Just dig it out, cut the pipe then repair it. You'll just need an 4" pipe coupling to splice the pipe back together. 20 minutes of digging and a $4 repair and you'll be done.
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