Naughty kitty? Woman recalls how cat falling into balcony drainage pipe gave her anxiety
A cautionary tale for all pet owners – curiosity almost killed this cat after it crawled into and found itself trapped inside a drainage pipe at an Aljunied condo.
The ordeal lasted for more than seven hours last Sunday (Sept 11), said Herni who declined to give her full name.
The 27-year-old office manager shared with AsiaOne that she was woken up by Sushi's meows at around 11.30am and found that her three-month-old kitten was actually crying for help after falling inside a drain at the balcony.
Herni, who owns five other "naughty" cats, said: "I'm assuming they managed to push aside a 3.8-litre water dispenser [that was covering the drain hole], and peel out the tape on the drain cover.
"Sushi probably decided to go inside the drain out of curiosity."
In a two-minute video that was shared to AsiaOne, it showed Herni calling out for Sushi while ringing a bell from its favourite toy.
But the pipe was too narrow for the kitten to crawl out from, Herni said.
"We could only hear his voice, and we knew that he was cold and scared," she added.
"It definitely broke my heart. I was panicking with worry that he would run further [inside the pipe]."
Luring Sushi out with food did not work either, Herni said, adding that sticking a garden hose into the pipe failed to free the kitten from its nightmare ordeal.
"The last option was to cut the rainwater pipe to save Sushi," Herni said. "After going back and forth, the condo management gave their approval to do it."
After forking out $400 for a plumber to carry out the precarious rescue operation, Herni's boyfriend managed to pull the soaking wet kitten out the pipe at around 6.20pm, some seven hours later.
The plumber had also fixed the pipe to prevent water from leaking, according to Herni.
"I'm so thankful that Sushi didn't break any bones even though he was shaking and trembling," the relieved cat owner said, adding that she still has a "feeling of fear" that it might happen again.
"I've always been extra careful, but unexpected things will still happen because they're cats," she quipped.
Previously, some residents of Bukit Batok West Avenue 8, the Jurong Police Division and the Singapore Post had to work together to free a cat trapped in a letterbox.
The cat could be seen reaching out of the letterbox with its paws, desperate to get out in the 2017 incident.
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chingshijie@asiaone.com
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