Cat freed after being trapped in car engine for 7 days

A lucky black cat has been reunited with his owner after being trapped underneath a car bonnet for a full week.

13-year-old Draco had gone missing after being chased by a dog outside his home in Devon.

His owner, Damien Phoenix, had been searching for him ever since but after a week had gone by with no sign, he had almost given up hope.

Phoenix said: "I called him and called him, but he was nowhere to be seen.  I thought he had disappeared for good."

However, whilst running a routine vehicle inspection on a neighbour's car, mechanics at the local garage were astonished to find Draco trapped inside next to the radiator.

The automobile had been driven on two journeys totalling 20 miles in the days since Draco became trapped inside. Part of the engine had to be removed in order to free him.

The car belonged to a neighbour's daughter and had been parked outside her home. Mr Phoenix thinks the cat must have climbed up the underside of the car and got stuck once inside.

Draco had gone without food or water the entire time, and could hardly walk once he was freed. However, after a check-up with the vet, he was reunited with his owner and is now on the mend.

Phoenix said: "He came off remarkably well considering. It could have been a lot worse. He's used up at least one of his lives there!"

Lost cat found after 6 years!

Sar Chi was found 6 years after going missing

Whilst Beauty the kitten remains lost - see our previous stories here and here - a recent story shows that happy endings are still possible despite the passing of time.

The Kirkwood family, from Wallingford in Oxfordshire, England, lost their tabby cat Sar Chi way back in 2005. Despite a huge search throughout their neighbourhood the Kirkwoods never found Sar Chi again.

Recently, the family decided to adopt a new cat and began looking through the listings of a local rescue centre - only to be stunned to see a picture of their long-lost pet on its website!

The Kirkwoods took their old pictures of Sar Chi to the rescue centre. A comparison between their the tabby's unique markings and the cat on the website duly confirmed that their missing pet had been found!

Sar Chi was immediately reunited with his old family and has now been microchipped, with the Kirkwoods over the moon to have their tabby back.

However, Sar Chi's whereabouts since 2005 are unknown. He had been brought into the rescue centre at the beginning of this September, with no name tag or microchip.

The intervening six years seem set to remain a complete mystery!

You can read more at the Oxford Mail.

Cat has tail to tell after cinema rescue

A CAT has been rescued from the former Odeon cinema after his cries were heard by residents.

The black and white domestic short-haired cat was discovered after locals noticed that the gates to the rear of the building had been burst open on Monday night and decided to investigate. The male cat could be heard crying inside the building, but it is unclear how he managed to get in or how long he had been trapped for. Chair of Southside Community Council, Hilary McDowell, contacted the Scottish SPCA and reported the vandalism of the gates to police. The cat was rescued yesterday afternoon by Scottish SPCA ambulance driver Mairi Stewart, who said: "The cat was trapped between a fire door and another set of doors."

Source: Edinburgh news Online 6th April 2011

Operation overkill: 25 firemen and five engines sent to rescue one cat stranded on roof

It's a service traditionally offered by our compassionate fire services. But the response of the Suffolk brigade to a cat trapped on a roof went well beyond the call of duty.

Health and safety rules meant 25 firefighters were sent to rescue the cat at an estimated cost of £1,500.

The cat was perched about 40ft up on a two-storey house in Leiston, Suffolk, yesterday when five crews were dispatched to save it.

The crews – two of which came from 30 miles away - scrambled to comply with national ‘working at height’ regulations to ensure the health and safety of firefighters, but union leaders have branded the response ‘crazy and overkill’.

Firefighters with specialist training in working at heights ‘each likely to be four or five strong’ were also mobilised from Felixstowe, 30 miles away, and Bungay, 20 miles away.

Ironically the crews were turned back within minutes when a local firefighter from Leiston climbed a ladder and rescued the cat - which ran off unscathed.

Under the guidelines firefighters are allowed to work temporarily from the top of a ladder.

The response would have cost taxpayers thousands of pounds.

A spokesman for campaign group The Taxpayers’ Alliance said: ‘It’s ridiculous that five fire crews were sent out to rescue one cat.

A Suffolk County Council spokeswoman said it had been called by the RSPCA to help and the reaction was in line with national regulations.

Source: Daily Mail – 6^th April 2011

Tiny Paws Kitten Rescue takes in 33 cats

About two years ago, Kathi Brooks started Tiny Paws Kitten Rescue in her Newark home.

Working mostly on her own, she would care for pregnant cats and their kittens until she could help them find permanent families.

But last week, Brooks got a phone call that turned her small animal rescue organization upside down.

On March 22, Newark police and animal control personnel removed 49 cats and eight kittens from an apartment on North Fifth Street. Many of the cats were sick and malnourished.

When Brooks heard what had happened, she knew she had to help the cats somehow.

"I normally don't do this kind of thing," she said. "But they had nowhere else to go."

Tiny Paws Kitten Rescue took in 33 of the cats, which now live in large cages in Brooks' garage. She and a small group of friends and volunteers feed the cats, clean their litter and make sure they get good veterinary care.

Their main goal is to get the cats healthy, then get them adopted, Brooks said.

"I'm not going to give up, and neither will my friends," she said. "We'll get them homes."

Source: Newark Advocate Online