Curious George, The Storm Drain Kitten

From Maria:

A few weeks ago, we noticed an Animal Control officer and some neighbors peering into the storm drain near our house. We learned that someone had spotted a cat down there. The kitty spent his time traveling through the tunnels under the street, and though he had been seen, he never seemed to be around when the animal control officer was in the area and available to remove the heavy metal grate covering the hole. A mother and daughter tried to lure the kitty out with tuna, and one lanky teen even crawled down into the hole below the grate to see if he could catch a glimpse of and rescue this elusive kitty.

We worried about the kitty as the days passed – we thought he must be awfully hungry and frightened. It had been raining heavily, and water was gushing fiercely through the tunnels. One evening, my teenage niece decided to check on the kitty once more before getting ready for bed – first, she heard a meow and then saw the kitty at the bottom of the drain. She reached in as far as she could, and the kitty reached up. Hands and paws interlocked, and she pulled the kitty to safety. Thankfully, he was tiny enough to fit through the opening behind the grate (our vet estimated him to be around 11 months old). We named him “Curious George” (“George” for short) because of his inclination to explore – that could explain how he ended up in the storm drain in the first place!

George spent four days in a bedroom in our home, enjoying room service and a warm place to sleep. He had quite an appetite and seemed very appreciative of the care he was getting. He sometimes had trouble deciding whether he wanted to be held, or whether he should eat something. He tried doing a little of both, going back and forth between us and his food dish.

George is such a loving and affectionate kitty – he loves to snuggle, purrs loudly when being petted, and likes to cuddle right up and fall asleep at night. We wish we could have kept George, but we already have a cat, along with a few dogs. George doesn’t appear to be very fond of dogs and certainly didn’t appreciate the loud barking.

It was very difficult to say goodbye to George, as he is such a sweetheart. We hope that he will be adopted by a caring family who will treat him like royalty and give him the great life he surely deserves.

Many people played a role in rescuing George: the person who first heard the lonely meow coming from the storm drain and notified the police, the diligent animal control officer, the many neighbors who cared about this kitty and wanted to help him, my niece who wanted to “check once more before bed,” and of course, Feline Rescue, who is providing a safe place for George to stay while he awaits a new home. We are grateful that we could play a part in getting George safe and ready to start a new chapter in the rest of his nine lives.