Cunning council rescue keeps kitty safe

Thames-Coromandel District Council workers and a Tairua politician worked together to save a much-loved pet cat who was staring down the barrel of its ninth and final life.

 

Tairua-Pauanui Community Board member and local Fire Chief Chris New called TCDC Utilities Field Rep Evan Vaughters for help after several unsuccessful hours on the weekend trying to coax the trapped cat from a Tairua storm water pipe.

 

Rushing to the situation like a rat up a drain pipe, Evan arrived to find the animal in a section of pipe that fell away at a gentle slope for about 20 metres before a bend and straight drop-off some 30 metres’ high.

 

“No-one is sure how the kitten got into the storm water pipe or why, but it was well and truly stuck,” said Evan. “They’d tried everything – one of the contractors from United Water had even got a boat anchor and a chain with the hope that he might be able to send the anchor down to the bottom, stick a pillow or something around it, then pull the kitty back out the other end.

 

“Unfortunately, the anchor didn't make it down as it had hit some type of blockage. So Chris suggested using the fire hose to flush it out.”

 

But with a large steel plate at the bottom of the drop-off, the owner was concerned the cat might get injured. Pet owner and neighbours anxiously waited as Chris called the council, believing the only way to get the cat out would be to send a camera down the line to find its location, then put a hole in the top of the pipe to pull it out.

 

The council uses a CCTV camera that is about the size of a man’s foot to locate blockages in the storm water system and assess its condition in order to undertake remedial works. The camera propels itself along using cables and can be stopped at any time to investigate obstructions and specific angles in the pipe. This saves on labour and excavation as well as costly road re-instatement.

 

Says Evan: “Attempting to balance the cost of such work (use of the camera alone would have been about $1000) with the sensitivity of the situation, I walked along the line and when I reached the end, tapped on the pipe. We heard the 'meow' 'meow' inside. The cat was basically right at the top of the steep drop off!”

 

Meanwhile rain had started to fall and water was steadily rising through the pipe. “It seemed only a matter of time before the kitten got flushed down the line anyway,” says Evan.

  

Rescuers took the plate off the bottom of the pipe and asked the owner and neighbours to wait at the bottom with a net, pillows, a blanket for the kitty, some food, and a cage in case it bolted!

 

“We blocked off the pipe at the top end, let it fill up, then whoosh! Out came kitty, all in one piece, and still alive, and we didn't have to rip up any infrastructure in the process. It was quite emotional for some of the residents – it was nice to be able to help.”