The kitten Was Rescued By Volunteers After Being Trapped In A Funnel

We have buddies that we can rely on if we’re lucky. When we reach a snag, we have friends who will come to our aid. One poor little kitten got stuck inside a broken pipe on a chilly, rainy night in Safford, Arizona. When the kitten, who was only 10 weeks old, slipped into the pipe in the backyard of an empty house, he was most likely looking for a place to sleep for the night.

Thankfully, organizations such as Desert Cat Rescue & Sanctuary of Arizona, The Safford Fire Department, and 3G Plumbing responded to the call to save this lovely baby.

However, the kitten’s rescue story began as follows: Around 8 a.m. on Friday, September 10, two college students could hear the kitten’s frantic meows echoing from the house where they resided. The pupils had recently acquired a rescue cat from Desert Cat Rescue and knew who to contact for assistance.

That afternoon, Cheryl Christensen, with the rescue, answered the call. Christensen refers to herself as the “chief litter box scooper” at the shelter, yet she is the founder and director of Desert Cat Rescue. She appeared on the scene right away, as do all true cat lovers.

Christensen told Daily Paws, “We all completely agreed there was a kitten in that wall.” “We couldn’t seem to find it.”

So they sought assistance from the Safford Fire Department. Within 15 minutes, firefighters were on the scene, with some bringing family members to assist.

The staff, however, was stumped as to how the cat got inside the wall. Obviously, everyone would have to come up with a means to find the unfortunate kitten. The crew has now determined that the next stage should be to ascend to the top of the building. They could hear the small meows more clearly after that. The shouts were clearly coming from the ventilation pipes. Then it occurred to me that the unoccupied home next door had an open pipe in the rear that was just big enough for a little cat to fall into.

The crew called in 3G Plumbing, where Archuleta’s son Chris works, on the advice of one of the Safford firemen, John Archuleta, according to The Gila Herald. The plumbers slipped a camera down the pipe and discovered the kitten just five feet below the surface. This may not appear to be a big matter, but it was actually rather concerning. The terrified infant was barely 15 feet from the main sewer pipe of the city. The poor tiny thing would be wet every time someone flushed a toilet on that street.
The cat had slipped into an uncapped clean-out pipe, according to Archuleta. Plumbers utilize these pipes to obtain better access to septic tanks and sewage lines in order to clean material from them said Archuleta.

Residents, firefighters, plumbers, and others began digging in the area surrounding the damaged pipe. The plan was to cut the pipe and persuade the terrified, weary kitten out. The small kitty had been sobbing for hours and it was now the middle of the night. However, as soon as everyone started digging, one of the plumbers noticed the kitty was on the move and peeked into the camera.

The plumbers gently nudged the kitty forward with their camera as everyone gathered and agreed to remove the toilet from the abandoned residence. The four-hour effort, which was supported by the camera’s bright light and recordings of a mom cat, paid off when the kitten was rescued.

Desert Cat Rescue had planned to place the kitten, who turned out to be a small boy, in a foster home, but due to the late-night rescue, that plan fell through. Chris Archuleta felt he needed a new companion and took the cat home with him. But not before his teeny-tiny co-star changed his name twice: First there was Echo, who fit since his small meows resonated through the pipes, but then there was Gremlin. When you look at his lovely ears, it’s easy to see why.

Chris received food and supplies for Gremlin from Christensen. Chris brought him to the emergency vet the next morning. Gremlin was given antibiotics and proclaimed well afterward. Gremlin will be adopted as soon as he has all of his immunizations and is neutered.

Christensen tells us that if we hear a child voice in distress, we should always act:
“If anyone else hears that small meow, please don’t hesitate to seek out because there are kind individuals out there who will come to your aid.”

Isn’t that, after all, what friends are for?