By Meghan McCormick
The Norman Transcript
NORMAN — Two kittens are recovering after they were rescued from a Norman sewer line.
Kim Fairbanks, administrative coordinator with Hands Helping Paws, said efforts to rescue the brown Tabby kittens began Sunday evening.
“At about 9:30, I got a phone call from some residents in a panic because they could hear a kitten meowing down the sewer line very loudly,” she said. “I went over there and it was in fact in the storm sewage line.”
The kittens are no more than 5 weeks old. Fairbanks believes the male kittens are litter mates. One of the kittens was injured.
“It would slide and crawl slowly into the line. We could hear another one that was very loud,” she said.
Fairbanks said she and volunteers lowered a cat trap in the hole. Food was placed in the trap to entice the feline.
About 30 minutes later, the kitten went into the trap. She said volunteers pulled up the kitten.
Fairbanks took the cat home and cared for it Sunday night. She visited a veterinarian on Monday. The feline was given antibiotics for respiratory and eye infections.
Fairbanks was still determined to rescue the other kitten in the sewer line. She called the city of Norman’s utilities department who referred her to the street department.
“Finally, I got a hold of John McCarrell in sewer line maintenance. He was extremely helpful,” she said.
Line maintenance supervisor John McCarrell said he sent employees Randy McGrew and Mike Zedeker to check out the situation on Johnson Street.
Fairbanks said Ellen Fletcher with the City of Norman Animal Welfare Center also assisted. Workers lowered a camera in the manhole looking for the kitten.
“Almost immediately, we saw it,” she said. “It was laying in the sewer line and couldn’t move very well. It was so weak that it couldn’t move.”
Zedeker and McGrew worked about 11⁄2 hours to remove the cat from the line. Zedeker said he had never participated in rescuing an animal from a storm drain.
“This would be a first for me,” he said.
Zedeker said he and McGrew assembled a pole and net to place down the drain. The plan was to place the net over the kitten. However, that didn’t work.
“It took a lot of patience,” Zedeker said.
After several tries, McGrew climbed down the manhole. He then picked up the kitten and brought it up.
Zedeker said the wet kitten appeared injured.
“You could tell the legs were hurt,” he said.
Fairbanks said the kitten was wet and wouldn’t have survived another night. A veterinarian is treating the injured kitten.
X-rays showed his back left hip was broken in two places.
“We believe it will recover,” Fairbanks said. “He’s doing better. His temperature is almost normal. He’s being syringe fed, given fluids and injections.”
She said the hip should heal on its own, but the kitten faces a long recovery period.
“He will need a lot of TLC, and time will just tell what his outcome will be,” Fairbanks said.
She thanked McGrew for getting the cat out of the drain.
“He is our hero. He was there. He didn’t hesitate to go in, and he got the job done,” she said.
Fairbanks said both kittens are friendly and tame. They will be ready for adoption in a few months. State law requires organizations to have animals current on vaccinations and spayed/neutered before they are placed on an adoption list.
She said anyone interested in adopting the kittens or other felines may e-mail HandsHelpingpaws@cox.net.
People also can see pictures of kittens and cats that need homes at petfinder.com.
If anyone would like to help with medical costs, donations may be sent to PO Box 1024, Norman OK 73070. Donations are tax deductible.
Meghan McCormick 366-3539 mmccormick@normantranscript.com
