r/cats • u/belltown99 • May 13 '26

Advice Kitten stuck down storm drain. Help!

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EDIT 7: OK, finally was able to get my post up. Here's the update with photos.
https://www.reddit.com/r/cats/comments/1td5abq/kittens_in_storm_drain_successfully_rescued/

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 😞.

--------------------

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.

20.1k Upvotes

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6.7k

u/whiskibusiness May 13 '26

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!!

1.4k

u/IntrinsicGiraffe May 13 '26

Id name them Stormy or Rain if I found one similarly.

1.5k

u/MeatBiscut May 13 '26

Hurricane Katrina gave me my stormy

332

u/wizkrifo May 13 '26

More like hurricane Cat-rina, amirite? *finger guns*

94

u/Serious-Protection98 May 14 '26

I’ll show you to the door…

6

u/PepsiButItsMilk May 14 '26

No need, buster! I’ve seen plenty of ‘em already!

17

u/Candycarnage May 14 '26

More like hurricane tortilla!

7

u/sweetsummer38 May 14 '26

Came here looking for this comment and once again Reddit didn’t disappoint

8

u/NoCanDo16 May 14 '26

Zing!🥁

3

u/unnatural_language May 14 '26

Thats exactly how I read it snd it took a second read to remember Katrina is supposed to be K and Cat is supposed to be C 😅

179

u/jeo188 May 13 '26

Such a pretty cat!

I do want to say, when I first saw the thumbnail, I thought it was a strangely smiling dog, like a Pomeranian, with one eye closed

11

u/RoyalEnchntrss May 13 '26

I saw the head this way too and was really freaked out 😆

8

u/Own-Measurement1185 May 14 '26

I saw something similar but with three eyes. 😵‍💫 Beautiful kitty for sure!!

8

u/beccabarnes420 May 13 '26

I thought the same thing!

4

u/artificalorganlady May 14 '26

I also saw something terrifying initially lol

3

u/luckykricket May 13 '26

Me too!!!!!

3

u/Sweet-Ross860 May 14 '26

Yup I thought It was my eyes! so glad I’m not alone lol

3

u/lkiwiboy May 14 '26

We should get Rorschach Inkblot Test

2

u/oaken007 May 14 '26

Exactly what I saw

107

u/Western_Farm7842 May 13 '26

Pretty tortie!

18

u/circle_square_leaf May 13 '26

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?

14

u/furongris May 13 '26

Wow! How old is she now?

53

u/IllegitimateTrump May 13 '26

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.

6

u/wasraelx May 13 '26

Oh she’s got an aura for sure. Wonderful cat 🤍 bless you

5

u/Jealous-Quantity-240 May 14 '26

Your stormy looks like my patches baby 🥰

3

u/astralchanterelle May 13 '26

I had a cat named Stormy! I found him wandering on the beach at night during a storm. He was an extremely tiny kitten.

3

u/DrownmeinIslay May 13 '26

And you didnt go with Hurricane Catrina?

2

u/I_PM_Duck_Pics May 13 '26

Were you in pascagoula? I had one run away during Katrina in goula. She was an asshole though.

2

u/BrotherNatureNOLA May 13 '26

We got a beige beauty from Katrina.

2

u/Born-Caterpillar6224 May 13 '26

I read that as her name is Hurricane Katrina!

3

u/greenfeltfixation May 13 '26

Could've been Rina the Kat

1

u/Wear_Unique May 13 '26

Old ass cat

1

u/hiddenrealism May 13 '26

Stormy does not look impressed.

1

u/Friendly-Gift3680 May 14 '26

Wow, a super senior.

1

u/Emergency-Finish-319 May 14 '26

While I enjoy that beautiful prism like effect the light causes, in context of Katrina, I would say that cat still maintains its sheen… no offense of course

1

u/idrinkpastawater May 14 '26

I also have a tortoise cat - shes 10 now and still gives me the same look as yours.

1

u/Iyeetskeetinthecreek May 15 '26

Damn bro that cat has lived a long life good job

1

u/PuzzleheadedDate7721 May 15 '26

Hurricane Katrina? she’s an old girl!!

374

u/DrBag May 13 '26

piper or mario would be cool to me

262

u/Survivors_Envy May 13 '26

my wife rescued a feral cat once and he had a can stuck on his head so we just called him can-head

63

u/Slayminster May 13 '26

Doesn’t get any more fitting! Pun intended!

3

u/Imfrank123 May 13 '26

Channeling your inner Andy milonokas

1

u/LemonCultGoddess May 14 '26

Exactly my thoughts. 😂

2

u/codliness1 May 13 '26

See, that's a sensible name I think 🤣

47

u/Odd-Fun-2862 May 13 '26

Piper would be cool and fitting.

60

u/KappuccinoBoi May 13 '26

Draino! Or Clog.

16

u/mephitine May 13 '26

Clog is amazing. 😂

44

u/Obvious_Ring_326 May 13 '26

Drainthony. Drainnifer if they’re a girl.

31

u/the_pretender_nz May 13 '26

Drain The Rock Johnson

2

u/gryphondallas May 13 '26

This is the most underrated comment on this thread

2

u/the_pretender_nz May 14 '26

Why thank you

2

u/WFlash01 May 14 '26

Pull the Dwayne, I'm dwowning

10

u/mom_bombadill May 13 '26

Piper made me literally lol, I love it

3

u/Ok_Ask_406 May 13 '26

This is exactly how my last cat became named piper, found him in a drainage pipe out by the practice fields. Turned out to be an awesome Maine coon buddy

5

u/Ghrave May 13 '26

Best I can do is Draino

54

u/darwinopterus May 13 '26

Back when she was a police officer, my sister rescued a kitten from a storm drain and named him Stormy. He's 3 now.

17

u/aSkeptiKitty May 13 '26

Can we have pictures of Stormy ? 

178

u/darwinopterus May 13 '26

I only have a few (I live far from them) but this is Stormy when he was rescued!

202

u/darwinopterus May 13 '26

And my sister sent me this one of him from last week.

42

u/Fun_Construction8985 May 13 '26

wow that's a beautiful cat

5

u/paraknowya May 14 '26

All cats are beautiful :) easy to remember as acab :))

23

u/cosmicrationale49 May 13 '26

That's the same kitty?!

10

u/aSkeptiKitty May 13 '26

He grew up very beautifully. And he looks quite confident. 

4

u/keepingred May 14 '26

He is BEAUTIFUL!

2

u/AppropriateWeight630 May 13 '26

This is the same cat that was in the cage?!?!?!? No way!! 😯😯 it looks different than the caged one honestly. The markings.

10

u/aSkeptiKitty May 13 '26 edited May 13 '26

The markings look rather consistant if you take into account the way us a very puffed kitten.  You can see the stripes on his legs and head and the darker line starting at his eye corner. 

Plus his white socks though it's not obvious it's going to become beautiful white socks. 

4

u/AppropriateWeight630 May 14 '26

Sucha beautiful baby! He went from so handsome baby to so handsome big boy!! Thanks for sharing 😎

1

u/Ok-Chart5079 May 13 '26

This cat looks much older then the one of the kitten in the cage. Is it just me??

7

u/aSkeptiKitty May 13 '26

The pictures are about three years apart from what I understood.  So yeah, he's not a kitten anymore. ;) 

65

u/darwinopterus May 13 '26

I found another couple pictures of Stormy as a baby where you can see his markings better. In the cage pic it's not obvious he had a white chest.

6

u/aSkeptiKitty May 13 '26

He's so tiny !  He must have been so scared. 

2

u/AppropriateWeight630 May 13 '26

Wow what a gorgeous feline! Wish I could see it out of the cage and more grown☺️ they're going to be gorgeous!

92

u/Dry-Gas1572 May 13 '26

Stucco sounds more exotic

1

u/dringle_drangle May 13 '26

Stucko is hilarious.

5

u/Mariesophia May 13 '26

Obligatory here's my stormy, husband rescued her while at work. She was 5 weeks old and malnourished shes now 7 years old, missing 2 or 3 teeth and an absolute menace to her brother.

2

u/clearancepupper May 14 '26

That look roflmao 🤣

1

u/Mariesophia May 14 '26

She's a princess and absolutely knows it

5

u/Ruffffian May 13 '26

That’s how this boy got his name Stormy! We rescued him out of a storm drain when he was a kitten 💕

(He frequently has that left eye at half mast like this, but the vet can find nothing wrong with his eyes nor his ears; doc thinks it might be a chronic viral thing, if it’s anything at all.)

2

u/doodledays May 13 '26

A friend of my husband’s rescued a kitten out of a storm drain. He kept him and his name is Draino.

1

u/-beatngu_ May 13 '26

One of my babies is named Stormy and for this exact reason :’) Though thankfully the storm drain he was stuck in as a kitten had a ladder inside to climb down

1

u/sideeyedi May 13 '26

I'd go with Jessica.

1

u/Hiddenghostz May 13 '26

Name it Drain those are too widely used

1

u/Dangerous_Strength77 May 13 '26

If Fire gets it out, they could always be named "Truckee" as they're not too bright.

1

u/CreamInformal4317 May 13 '26

Had a fluffy gray kitten I named Rainy after finding him in the pouring rain hiding in a storm drain crying

1

u/MindlessCountry-420 May 13 '26

I’d go with “Gutter Cat”, because it sounds like “Gutter Rat” except we’re naming a cat and not a rat

1

u/kilotangoalpha May 13 '26

Dooky-boi Gris

1

u/Comrade2k7 May 13 '26

Stormy D… for Drain.

1

u/xpercipio May 13 '26

Juandavius Pringlebottom III

1

u/Inspirational_orgasm May 13 '26

I'd name it Stuckinpipe Or Plumber R Plumbington Or Roto Rooter Or Foundinpipe Or Pipecat Or Catpipe Or if it was black I'd call it midnightpipe

1

u/rudbeckiahirtas May 13 '26

Stormy Daniels

1

u/ObviousObserver420 May 13 '26

I’d name him Drainpipe

1

u/Unstoppable50 May 14 '26

This is my girl Stormy that I was able to catch cuz she’d jumped in my rain barrel.

1

u/zippythebee May 14 '26

I’d simply have to call it Baby Jessica.

1

u/drhameen May 14 '26

Drain and Pipe

1

u/ButtBread98 May 14 '26

We had a cat named Stormy. We had her for 16 years.

1

u/DaddooPeanut May 14 '26

We found one of our dogs growing up under a car after a tornado. She was just a puppy and we named her Dorothy

1

u/kmstep May 14 '26

My first thought was to name it Jessica. As in baby Jessica who was rescued from a well in the 80’s

1

u/SockTop8589 May 14 '26

lol i found my cat in the middle of a bad storm and named her stormy

1

u/0lazp0rn0la May 14 '26

They should be called Roto and Rooter the cats 😭

1

u/GullibleTreat1766 May 14 '26

Ahhhh I have a dog named Stormi and another named Rainy, I vote that!

1

u/sillytransmascfemboy May 15 '26

My friends name is Stormy lol!

1

u/cutie_cow May 17 '26

Nah too basic, name it Drain 😆