A cat got stuck three feet underground at a construction site. She spent three days in the water drain. This is the story of Catoune, the cat whose rescue made the inhabitants of Reunion Island hold their breath.
One morning in August, the inhabitants of Hauts des Camélias, rue des Marquis, were startled by repeated meows.
They discovered a cat stuck in a buried drainpipe. The pet actually belonged to a family living not far away.
Indeed, construction works were taking place in the area. According to the cat’s worried owner, the puss, named Catoune, was afraid of the noise and hid in this pipe.
Once in her shelter, the fifteen-year-old cat realized that she could not get out alone. Catoune was stuck one meter under the ground, much to the dismay of her owner Pascal.
Firefighters arrived on the scene and set out to rescue Catoune from her underground prison. They first tried to fill the pipe with water to get the cat out but to no avail.
Using a crowbar, they then lifted concrete slabs over the pipe, but it was still inaccessible.
So, they had no alternative but to dig out with a backhoe. The only drawback was that the local firefighters did not have this particular tool.
A general mobilization led to the cat’s rescue
Overwhelmed by the situation, Catoune’s owners, Pascal and Marie, launched an appeal on a radio station to ask listeners for help.
“If someone has a backhoe in the area, we are willing to pay for it,” said Pascal’s wife, Marie.
Touched, the community mobilized to help Catoune, who had just spent three days in her hole. The night before, Marie’s son had heard a terrified Catoune calling for help and meowing in distress.
After several hours of hard work, it was only late in the night of August 15th that the poor animal was taken out of its prison under reporters’ cameras.
Catoune poked her head out of the hole first, wondering if she would be able to get out. A few minutes later, it is the release.
The freed feline was astonished to see so many people mobilized! Withal, she was glad to have been saved after undergoing the noise of jackhammers, backhoes, and jigsaws.
Upon her rescue, Catoune was immediately surrounded by her family, especially Marie, her relieved mistress.
The family took again the airwaves to thank the firemen, the neighbors, the owner of the subdivision, and all the rescuers of Catoune. It was definitely a team effort.