Bomberos to the rescue!

[Steve]

I got woken at 6:30am this morning by Jannet shouting me from downstairs and could hear our cat, Tito, making the most awful wailing sounds.

I came downstairs and thought the cat was fighting with something but soon saw he was about 9 feet up our security gate with one of his legs all twisted and trapped in the decorative ironwork. Somehow he'd managed to get his leg round one bar, and then the opposite way round an adjacent bar and then his foot wedged in a third part inside one of the curls. He was obviously in a lot of pain and was struggling to hold on.

Standing on a chair I tried to free him but there was absolutely no way of getting him out. We got some vegetable oil and washing up liquid and covered his leg in it, but it wasn't budging. I asked Jannet to phone the Bomberos (that's what I'd do in the UK) but she said they wouldn't respond to that kind of situation here.

We decided to cut the ironwork that was trapping him but had no hacksaw. We called the landlord who said he'd send someone round asap and I sped off to Walmart and bought 3 hacksaws as I couldn't find spare blades. By the time I got back 10/15 minutes later the cat couldn't hold on anymore and was hanging upside down. I couldn't support him and cut the metal at the same time (Jannet couldn't reach him even with the chair and, besides, Dani was distraught) Luckily Jannet had called the bomberos by now and they were on their way. We got a couple of towels (as he was biting and scratching) and stood on the chair and supported his weight.

He's not very heavy, but 20 minutes or so later with my arms outstretched above my head standing on a chair and sweat pouring off me in the sun, my arms began to shake and I wasn't sure how much longer I could hold him. His tongue was hanging out of his mouth, his eyes were lolling and he was hardly moving but breathing rapidly - the horrible thought of deliberately breaking his leg, to free him before he died, crossed my mind.

Finally, we heard the whoop of the fire truck siren and Jannet rushed out to usher them in. One guy relieved me of holding the cat in the air and the other set about freeing his leg using more oil. I really don't know how they did it, it looked impossible to me, but after a couple of minutes they finally got him free and the cat jumped down and ran off to hide. He has a bad limp, but I don't think his leg is broken.

After thanking the firemen, Jannet said to them she didn't think they would be bothered with turning up to rescue a cat.

"Of course" they replied .

"If you've got a big spider in your bedroom or a crocodile in your garden just give us a call." :lol:

[CancunCanuck]

Oh man, I would have freaked out, poor baby! Good work daddy and mommy, hope little fur baby feels better soon. I have a feeling she won't be climbing that gate again.

Nice to hear the bomberos were so cool!

[TraceyUk]

Thankyou for making me smile today- thats a sweet story of men being heroes.
Better than the other violent side of Cancun we have heard so much of today.
TRacey
x

[jen***]

I agree Tracey, nice one Steve!
Poor kitty.

[Elizabeth]

We love kitties!!! Good for you Steve. Thats what a real man does.

Did the bomberos get a nice tip or a few beers?

[RiverGirl]

Steve - You are the hero of the day! And next time you need a hacksaw or a ladder of a spare set of hands I expect you to call us....

I've got something cat-related to post myself, but I need to download the pix from my camera first.

I'm really glad your gatito is ok!!

[Denise-n-Jayson]

Thank goodness Tito is OK.. I would be freaking out too!! I hope you can laugh about this now... The mental image I have of the scene goes from horror :shock: to giggles!

Tito power!!!

[TANDG]

It's nice to know there are still decent people in the world. I hope your kitty is OK