2 Animal Control Officers Foster the Screaming Kitten They Rescued From a Pipe
Courtesy of the City of Cheyenne
Luckily for one Wyoming-based kitty, it's more like curiosity almost killed the cat.
Animal control officers Elizabeth Wagner and Heidi Teasley responded to a call from a concerned resident in Cheyenne on Sept. 16. The caller had heard what sounded like a cat screaming from under an abandoned camper. The officers investigated and discovered the source of the panicked screams—a 5-week-old kitten, small enough to cup in your hands, who had somehow gotten herself stuck 4 feet down an electrical pipe.
These types of incidents aren't wholly uncommon for animal control officers—Wagner says they often get calls about critters stuck in strange places, from window wells to air-conditioning units.
The officers put their experience to work and extracted the kitten from the pipe within a half hour. From there, they took the kitten—aptly named Piper—over to the Cheyenne Animal Shelter for a visit with staff members and the veterinarian. Though the little black bundle of fur was given a clean bill of health, that isn't where her story ends.
"This one pulled at my heartstrings," Wagner tells Daily Paws. "She was by herself with no mom or litter, and kittens do better with others. I had the time and availability, so I fostered her."
Wagner and Teasley fostered the kitten together, enjoying her emerging personality. Though Piper started out as a timid, shy little thing, she warmed up pretty quickly.
"She really liked people after she figured out we'd feed her," Wagner laughed. Piper also loved playing with Wagner's dog, getting loads of attention, and chasing down her fosters' feet when they walked by.
Wagner and Teasley fostered Piper for two weeks before they brought her to the shelter so she could meet with potential adopters along with the dozens of other cats available for adoption—kittens, adults, and seniors alike.
Halloween fans in Wyoming, head on over—there's a handful of Sanderson (sisters), Cromwells, and other kitties with spooky namesakes waiting for a place to call home. Just be sure to have all your ducks—erm, litter boxes and mouse toys—in a row before you adopt your new kitty!
