Broadway Building staff successfully perform rescue operation for stranded cat

When Kristina Sackrider arrived at the Center for Professional Practice of Nursing at the Broadway Building the morning of Wednesday, Sept. 13, she likely had no idea she would participate in a multiple-day rescue operation for a four-legged, furry patient. However, that’s exactly what happened after Krista Greaves and Ashley Vieira flagged down Sackrider and Sabrina McKinney after hearing meowing coming from a nearby storm drainpipe.

When the team investigated, they saw a distressed cat trapped at least four feet down, and the rescue mission officially began.

First, the team strategized.

Their initial plan involved attaching an extra set of scrub pants to a pipe, which they hoped the cat could use to climb out. Unfortunately, the cat lacked the strength, willpower, courage, or perhaps simply the claws to rescue itself.

Fearing the cat would grow weaker, the team bought tuna and dropped ice cubes into the drain to keep the kitty hydrated and fed.

Next up, Alicia Vasey attempted to create a snare out of various objects, including cloth ribbon. This, too, did not work, nor did calling local animal control, who said the rescue would be left to UC Davis Health.

Multiple CPPN staff, including brand-new-hire Jamie Vogan, attempted to coax the cat out of the drain throughout the day, each unsuccessfully. Vogan, for example, revisited the cat on each break during orientation and after its finish.

The team observed the cat did indeed have the desire to leave the pipe but would only try to do so when staff backed away and remained quiet (except Scott Northouse of Plant Operations and Maintenance, who CPPN staff noted the cat seemed to like based on extra effort to climb out upon hearing Northouse’s voice). When it believed it was alone, the cat would attempt to climb the scrub pants, so the staff decided to leave it in hopes it would climb out overnight.

The following morning, McKinney discovered the storm drain lid placed lightly over the opening and the makeshift pants ladder set aside. McKinney looked inside and saw no sign of the cat.

Victory…for a few hours at least.

The meowing returned Thursday afternoon, and Wednesday’s rescue team sprang back into action. More head scratching by the humans, more regular scratching by the cat. The pants did not work. The snare did not work.

“Maybe,” the team wondered, “the cat wants to be there?” So, they left it alone again.

On Friday, Sept. 15, a peek at the cat had staff concerned. The furry feline looked sleepy, listless and distressed. While CPPN continued feeding attempts and ice drops for rehydration, PO&M cut as much of the pipe as safety would allow, but it still wasn’t quite enough to make a rescue. Self-rescue via the pants appeared to be the only option, and the team returned to work.

Feeling deflated but not defeated, Sackrider returned Saturday with an array of homemade tools.

Using a month’s worth of patience in a single day, she stayed with the cat, coaxing and feeding it until she could fully lower her snare into the pipe. Using food rigged to a stick to lure the cat out of the L-shaped portion of the pipe, she secured the cat in the snare stably enough to pull it out of the pipe.

As if to say, “thank you,” the cat immediately began purring.

Sackrider noticed the kitty’s back legs seemed injured, so she called Animal Control for an assessment. Animal Control eventually provided a clean bill of health and scanned the cat for a microchip, which it did not have. Vogan agreed to provide shelter for the cat – now affectionately deemed “Stormy” - overnight until a permanent home could be found.

Ultimately, the kitty cat found its forever home with Northouse’s family.

“They named the cat Winston,” McKinney reported. “Scott’s son already loves Winston more than he could’ve ever imagined.”

Winston might have used one of his nine lives, but his stormy week led to a future of bright days ahead.