Security guard hears 'faint meow' near Macy's and finds tiny baby trapped in tube
Last month, a security guard patrolling Parkdale Mall in Beaumont, Texas, stopped in his tracks when he heard a “faint meow” echoing from a secluded area near a Macy’s outpost.
The guard tried to trace the noise, to no avail. In need of expert help, he called local authorities, who sent animal control officers Nevils and Carraway to the scene. The officers listened closely and eventually pinpointed the source of the sound — it was coming from an open drainage tube.
Sure enough, when officers looked down the tube, they spotted a tiny calico kitten trapped deep inside.
The officers knew that getting her out wouldn’t be easy. The kitten was very far down the pipe, and the tube was slick with mud and water. Nevils lowered an extendable mirror into the drain to get a better view, then she hatched a plan. She ran to her car, grabbed a towel and tore it into long strips, which she gently fed down the tube.
“The kitten knew exactly what to do!” Beaumont Animal Care wrote in a Facebook post. “She dug her tiny claws into the towel and started climbing, slowly but surely, making her way up. Inch by inch, she got closer until she was finally within reach, and Officer Nevils was able to grab her.”
Officers examined the kitten and found that she was wet and cold but otherwise very healthy.
In even better news, she wouldn’t have to go to a shelter, because she’d already found her new dad.
“The security guard who first heard her cries decided to take her home!” Beaumont Animal Care wrote.
Today, the kitten is loving life in her new home, far from the cold, wet drainage tube where she once cried out for help.
Rescuers are so glad that everything turned out for the best.
“We may never know how she ended up stuck in such a tight spot,” Beaumont Animal Care wrote. “But thanks to a sharp ear, a lot of patience and some quick thinking, her story got the happy ending it deserved!”
