She Was Determined
To Rescue That Cat

Stuck inside a subterranean pipe, the kitten howled. But it wouldn’t come out. Lt. Holly Wasilewski knew she wouldn’t be able to sleep that night if the feline remained there.

So began an hour-plus-long drama in Kimberly Square.

It began around 7:30 p.m. Wednesday. A woman approached two officers to report hearing a kitten cry from somewhere below Lamberton Street by Kimberly Avenue.

The officers knew to call Wasilewski, the Hill’s top cop. She has three cats herself, two of them rescues from the animal shelter. She’s known for having a soft touch for critters in general.

Wasilewski rushed over from the substation blocks away. By that point the cat was howling from down in a storm drain.

It was clear the cops would need a ladder to retrieve the cat. Wasilewski called the fire department. While waiting for the crew from Howard Avenue to send over Engine 11, a ladder truck, she picked up a can of cat food. She then stopped by Gem Liquors to obtain an empty Corona box.

Engine 11 arrived within minutes. The cops and now the firefighters present could see just a speck of gray down in the pipe; the cat had receded somewhere.

The firefighters removed the grating and pumped some of the water out of the drain. (There wasn’t much to begin with.) Then firefighter Phil Gonzalez climbed down a narrow pole ladder to the bottom of the drain, about five feet. The cat had scooted into a pipe in the wall. Gonzalez scooped out a piece of the cat food, threw it into the pipe. The cat kept crying. It didn’t move.

Gonzalez returned to the street. Wasilewski decided to give it a try herself.

“I went down there to take a look. I have cats of my own; I know one of my cats is afraid with certain males. I’ve had success rescuing other animals. I was the one who was really pushing the issue; I wanted the cat out.”

She ended up standing in the muck for a good hour (pictured at the top of the story). She bent over, tried coaxing the cat to come out. No luck. She tried praying. That didn’t help either.

Lt. Blakesless suggested a little pole might help. He went back to the firehouse to retrieve a metal pole that’d been lying as scrap in the back for months. The firefighters cut off a piece of the pole, attached a string to the end in a loop, handed it to Wasilewski.

Bending ​“as far as I could,” Wasilewski maneuvered the pole ​“as far as I could.” it was awkward; she was also relying on a flashlight to see the cat. The space was tight; but she got part of the loop on the kitten. Then the cat, a good six feet away, wiggled out of the loop. It remained frozen in place.

After another attempt, the firefighters cut a somewhat larger piece of the pole, some seven feet long.

That was tougher to maneuver in the tight space in the drain, especially since the pole obviously didn’t bend. But it reached farther in, which was crucial. Wasilewski this time got the loop fully around the kitten’s neck.

As Wasilewski pulled, the kitten escaped again. But it was closer now.

Wasilewski asked the firefighters to put some duct tape around the loop to stiffen it. That did the trick. On the third try, the loop stayed around the kitten’s neck.

Now Wasilewski worried the cat would choke as she pulled it toward her. The loop was getting tighter. And the cat was panicking.

Finally Wasilewski had the cat in her arms. It didn’t fight her.

“I’m coming up!” Wasilewski called as she, slowly, straightened. The cat relaxed. ​“It knew at that point it was being rescued.”

She handed the grayish tiger kitten to one of the officers above, who placed it in the Corona box. Then Wasilewski called the animal shelter, which didn’t have room. She took the kitten to the veterinary hospital on State Street, which also couldn’t take in the kitten. But the folks there did give the kitten a bath, washing away its fleas.

Wasilewski took the kitten home — just for the night. She said she couldn’t permanently take on a fourth cat. As it was, she had the kitten sleep in her bed, away from Shane, Bella, and Pumpkin. Especially Shane, who’s ​“kind of a bully.”

The kitten slept well. ​“My other cats weren’t too happy. They were growling and hissing this morning,” Wasilewski reported.

She brought the cat to the police station, where one colleague, Lt. Jeff Hoffman, offered to adopt it. Then Hoffman started sneezing. He’s not sure if he’ll adjust to the cat, or need to find it a new home. But for now, at least, it’s out of the drain — and cared for.

“I think I’ll be all right,” Hoffman reported Thursday afternoon. ​“It’s going to be my son’s first pet. I think I’ll tough it out.”