Kitty – who has been named Axle – is now completely safe and recovering from his ordeal with the very same cattery manager of the shelter that helped get him free.
Axel had somehow managed to wedge himself into a small space, with his little head popping out through a square opening which was just about the size of his tiny face when his rescuers were trying to get him free.The rescue operation took place after the clearly traumatized kitten.
Axel was freed when the van’s drivers stopped off at the RSPCA’s Burton Branch saying they had been hearing meows coming from somewhere in their vehicle.
The drivers and RSPCA staff worked s a team trying to locate the trapped kitten. Once the van had been unloaded, they jacked the vehicle up and looked under the hood, but were still not able to locate where the helpless cries were coming from.
It was with the clever use of a mobile phone that helped them find the wee one. They had to remove the vehicle’s back wheels and then used the phone’s camera to peer into the axle, where they found the kitten, who it was said, was completely trapped inside with no hope of being able to get out on its own.
The story was originally reported by The Burton Mail.
RSPCA Burton cattery manager Jill Astle is now caring for Axel in her home having spent the first night night in the veterinary hospital. Jill is quoted in the Burton Mail saying, “He was stuck in the space no bigger than your fist.”
“We had to use drain rods to push him out, but in the end he was okay.“
“It was quite distressing and emotional at the time as we didn’t know how we were going to get him out.“
“He was covered in oil and black when he came out. Our main concern was that he had ingested it.”
“He is a little monkey and he tries to get into the smallest spaces possible – behind the cupboards and the kickboards in the kitchen. I have to watch him all the time.”
“But he is lovely, is very friendly and is such a character.”
Axel is barely 10 weeks old but he will not be made available for adoption until he is six months old, due to testing positive for FIV, the feline immunodeficiency virus.
He will be tested again in a few months to see if he tests negative. If he tests positive again he will be rehomed to a one cat home or in a home with other FIV kitties.
FIV positive cats generally do live normal and long lives. The virus is not easily transmitted from one cat to another and is not transmissible to humans.
The 3 minute 27 second video below shows the poor kitten before the rescue with his head stuck through a small opening and crying for help.
While the video tugs at the heartstrings, it shows how delicate the kitty’s predicament was and the challenge his rescuers faced in getting him safely freed and out.
See Rspca Burton on Trent and District Branch at Facebook.