DELRAY BEACH, Fla. (WSVN) — It was a draining day for a kitten who was found stuck in a tight spot in Delray Beach.
A woman who spotted the 6-week-old cat trapped in a storm drain earlier this week called Delray Beach Fire Rescue for help.
After several unsuccessful attempts, the woman called the rescue group Operation Liberation.
“She discovered that he was in the drain. They had the fire department out,” said Liz Jones, the group’s founder. “They tried to remove the kitten that way, and unfortunately, he just kept going further and further into the drain.”
Over several days, Jones and others with Operation Liberation tried to lure the feline out with a cat trap and food, but each time they came up short.
At that point, Jones came up with a plan.
“We took off the drain covers on both sides of the 300-foot stretch, and then I crawled through about 250 to 300 feet of pipe that was running alongside the road there,” she said. “I was in the tunnel for about 30 minutes.”
After six days of rescue attempts, cellphone video captured the moment Jones managed to reach the cat.
“We were able to kind of trap him towards the end between myself and the other rescuers,” said Jones, “and he tried to run past me, actually, through the tunnel, but it was too narrow, so I caught him with my hand.”
The freed kitten, now named Donatello, was taken to an animal hospital to be checked out.
“He’s a little guy, so of course, we have to be very cautious,” said Jones. “He could take a turn, but for right now, we’re hoping that he makes a full improvement and recovery and that he’ll be able to be neutered and vaccinated and adopted in the near future.”
Jones is currently fostering Donatello. A GoFundMe page has been set up to foot his nearly $800 animal hospital bill.
If you would like to help with Donatello’s vet bill, click here.
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