Community Comes Together to Rescue Trapped Cat in Brewster
- hollytoal
- 13 minutes ago
- 3 min read
By Holly Crocco
When a Marshalls employee heard a cat’s cry coming from somewhere outside the Brewster store on a bitter cold day last month, they coul
dn’t just keep walking.
Instead, they called the Putnam County SPCA to report what they believed to be a trapped feline, likely in a storm drain, and what happened over the next few days was an act of community kindness that is nothing short of heart-warming.
Kathleen Sutherland of Putnam AdvoCATS received a call about the trapped animal from the SPCA mid-day Jan. 28. “The SPCA doesn’t handle that sort of thing, so they reached out to us,” she explained.
However, Putnam AdvoCATS, which is a nonprofit, all-volunteer organization that primarily runs a trap-neuter-return program for stray and feral cats in the county, also wasn’t equipped to help the animal.
“This was a tricky situation because it was a rescue that involved a small drain pipe,” said Sutherland.
Knowing special equipment would be needed, she began calling local well companies, and eventually was put in touch with Evans Septic Tank Service in Mahopac.
“Wednesday I got a call from Putnam AdvoCATS looking for someone to donate their time, who had a sewer camera line,” said Andrew Evans, who immediately headed to the scene. “I’m a cat dad – I just rescued two myself – so I was determined to save it. It wasn’t even a question. This is my slow season so anything I can do to give back.”
By the time Evans arrived, Electric Snake Sewer & Drain Service was also at the scene – as was Sutherland – and together they came up with a plan deploy snake lines to scope out where the cat was trapped.
“We camera-ed a couple lines and found out where the cat got in,” said Evans, who explained that they believe the animal fell in through a gutter pipe in front of the building. Using commercial snake lines that can reach up to 350 feet, they narrowed down the cat’s approximate location within the 24-inch storm drain pipe that collects groundwater in front of the shopping center.
And sure enough, they saw it.
“When was saw that little face, we couldn’t just go home,” said Sutherland.
Volunteers from AdvoCATS helped set traps, using tuna fish and other wet and dry food to attempt to lure the animal into one of the cages that Evans placed by crawling inside a manhole.
Then, they had to wait.
Over the next two days, volunteers returned to the scene, as did Evans, to check on the cat and see if it had been trapped. Even customers visiting the plaza seemed heartbroken for the animal, asking how they could help.
“It’s very hard to leave there when you hear that little cry,” said Sutherland. “Any stray cat is 100 percent at risk right now, in this weather. I was afraid that underground would be worse, but the building management and Andrew assured me it was actually warmer down there.”
Two full days after the cat was first discovered, Sutherland got another call from the Marshalls employees who said the crying sounded like it was in a different location. It was 10 p.m. and bitter cold, but when she turned around and called Evans, he didn’t hesitate to meet her back at the scene.
That’s when they found the cat had crawled into a trap, and they were able to pull it to safety.
The gray and white calico female cat, which is believed to be between 2 and 3 years old, was taken to Carmel Animal Hospital, where veterinarians treated her for some dehydration and ear mites.
“She is surprisingly in very good health,” said Sutherland, who is fostering the animal for a bit as the organization attempts to find her owners, since she isn’t microchipped. “She clearly came from a home. She’s friendly, she rolls over, she purrs … She’s not afraid of humans.
As part of their services, AdvoCATS sought to have the animal spayed, but there was one problem… The veterinarian believes she is pregnant.
If no owners step forward, adoptive “parents” will be sought for not only the rescued cat, but her babies, when they come. In the meantime, anyone missing a tabby cat is encouraged to contact AdvoCATS.
Putnam AdvoCATS is always looking for volunteers to drive cats to veterinary appointments, collect donations outside of local stores, foster animals, and learn to trap. Monetary donations are also sought, and can be made at putnamadvocates.org.