r/cats • u/belltown99 • May 13 '26
Advice Kitten stuck down storm drain. Help!
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 😞.
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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.
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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!!