Paws for help: cat found stuck in grate

LINCOLN, R.I. (WPRI) - Ding dong dell! This cat didn't make it into the well, thankfully, but it was found with its head stuck in the cap of a cast-iron drain in Lincoln -- and is now saved from the grate.

The cat had twisted his head into the grate, up to his neck, and couldn't twist it back out.

The call came in about 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, with a Lincoln Animal Control officer calling for assistance to Ferncrest Court in Lincoln for a small black-and-white cat stuck in the corner sector of a square drain cap. Curiosity brought the cat there; but luckily, it was still alive, struggling for help.

"We were dispatched to Ferncrest Avenue in Lincoln to assist the public works department for a cat stuck in the grate," Assistant Chief Arthur Jacques stated.

Assistant Chief Jacques of the Lime Rock Fire Department told Eyewitness News his crew assisted the town's Public Works employees in trying to get the cat's head out of the grate. When that failed, they had no choice but to haul the ENTIRE grate, with cat intact, to the Compassionate Care Veterinary Clinic nearby in Cumberland.

By about 1:30 p.m., Asst. Chief Jacques said, swelling around the cat's neck had gone down, and the cat's head wiggled out.

The vet believes the cat was stuck in the drain for about a week and made a final push through the square openings to free himself.

The grate cap had to be replaced in the interim.

The cat is being cared for by veterinarians; its owner was expected to pick the cat up later on Wednesday.