Kitten wedged inside wall of house is rescued

RSPCA and Greater Manchester Fire & Rescue Service free kitten from a tight spot.

A kitten who crawled into a hole in a wall in his owner’s home and then got wedged has had to be rescued by the RSPCA and fire service.

The owners of the kitten – and his mum and siblings – contacted the RSPCA on Wednesday morning (31 May) after the tiny silver tabby crawled behind a kitchen cupboard and into a hole which led to the wall cavity at the property in Holyrood Road, Prestwich.

RSPCA animal welfare officer (AWO) Helen Chapman and a crew from the Greater Manchester Fire & Rescue Service went to the house to try to free the stricken seven-week-old.

“The inquisitive kitten crawled behind the cupboard on Tuesday and found a hole in the wall,” AWO Chapman explained.

“He crawled into the cavity wall and got his head wedged between bricks so could not get himself back out. When he hadn’t reappeared the following day his worried owners called us. They said that his mother kept going over to the wall to try to find her kitten.”

A local fire crew attended along with the technical response crew to help AWO Chapman with the rescue.

“Luckily, we were able to free Tigre – Spanish for Tiger – and he was unharmed,” AWO Chapman added.

“Fire fighters had to remove the kitchen units and bricks very carefully so as not to crush him. They say curiosity killed the cat – well it very nearly could have killed little Tigre but thankfully we were able to free him just in time.”

“I’d like to say a big thank you to Greater Manchester Fire & Rescue Service for their assistance. We’re always incredibly grateful for any help we receive from them and, in this case, their help ensured we were able to save little Tigre quickly and carefully.”

Watch manager Karl Gibbons, from Whitefield fire station, said: “This was a really unusual case, the kitten had got his head stuck in the cavity of a wall. When we got our specialist snake eye camera out to take a closer look we realised he wouldn’t be able to free himself. “We were soon able to free the kitten, reuniting him, without any signs of injury, with a really pleased owner and providing all involved with a happy ending and good feeling.”

If you’re concerned for the welfare of an animal, please call the RSPCA’s 24-hour emergency line on 0300 1234 999

To help the RSPCA continue rescuing, rehabilitating and rehoming animals in desperate need of care please visit: www.rspca.org.uk/give

Firefighter Sharon Welch and Crew Manager Martin Scholes feature in the main image. Images courtesy of the RSPCA