Three-Week-Old Kitten Rescued After Falling Down Deep Drainpipe

The little ball of fur you’re looking at is too cute for words. But the three-week-old kitten almost never had a chance to be seen at all.

That’s because the itty bitty kitty had an accident that almost used up all nine of her very young lives.

The cat somehow fell down a drainpipe on Gibson Ave. in the Albion and Thistle Down Rd. area on Thursday, prompting a frantic call to officials for a rescue. The metal pipe runs about six feet into the ground and is only about four inches in diameter (below). 

The kitten fell so far down the hole, she was no longer visible.

But plenty of residents heard her heartbreaking cries for help pierce the air. It took them three days to figure out where it was coming from and then the concerned neighbours called Toronto Animal Services.

“I didn’t know what it was,” concedes resident Stephen Hooker about the cries. “There was cobwebs and leaves obviously down the pipe. But once you could look past that, you can see a tiny pair of eyes.”

“You could hear very loud mewing,” recalls Lindsay Ireland. “And then I went upstairs and about an hour later, I could still hear them out of the top window.”

It took three nerve racking hours in the high heat, before the experts came up with a plan that worked.

Rescuers created a netting-like device they hoped the cat’s claws would latch on to, allowing an easy save.

But it was not to be. The tiny creature simply couldn’t manage the feat, prompting a second solution. They turned the device around and formed a small noose out of the cord used to hold it. “We put a little bit of food here,” explains Peter Freeman of Toronto Animal Services. “So she would climb and we got her foot in it and up she went!”

Officials say they see this kind of thing every six months or so and fortunately, this one had a happy ending.

In the end, the cuddly creature was no worse for wear and earned a new name – “Bungee,” after the cord and netting that came to her aid.

The animal is eating and active and has been placed with a foster family until she’s ready for adoption.

And when that time comes, there likely will be a lot of families ‘piping’ up to give the furry friend a good home.