KCSPCA

Wednesday December 30, 2009

• Reprinted from Delaware State News, Dec. 31, 2009

• By Al Kemp | Delaware State News

CAMDEN - One stray cat's curiosity almost led to its demise Wednesday, until one human's curiosity proved to be its salvation.

The cat in question (now dubbed Penguin) was recovering from shock and hypothermia Wednesday afternoon at the Kent County Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, after being rescued in the morning from a storm drain in Milford, where its feet were frozen to a metal grate.

The following narrative, pieced together from a variety of sources, details how Penguin used eight of her nine lives in less than a day.

SOMETIME BEFORE 6 A.M.: A scrawny stray cat ventures into a plastic culvert near the railroad tracks behind Lakeview Apartments on Northwest Front Street in Milford. The overnight low is 22 degrees. Strong gusts howl between the apartment buildings and send litter skittering across the frozen weeds.

Once inside the pipe, there is no place for the stray to go but forward. So like Andy Dufresne in "The Shawshank Redemption," the stray crawls about 100 yards through the underground tunnel toward a dim light of a storm drain ahead.

The storm drain proves to be a dead end. And while the drain lets light in, nothing inside can get out. A 3-foot-by-4-foot steel grid prevents any escape. The stray scrambles for daylight but finds itself dangling over a foot of icy water with its two front paws frozen to the steel grid. Howls of panic ensue.

ABOUT 6:30 A.M.: John Worrall, 44, leaves his third-floor apartment to walk his dog, and hears a howling echo. He sees the cat inside the storm drain, and notices its two front paws frozen to the metal grid, about six inches apart.

"It was just hanging there," he said. "It was the last thing I ever expected to see. We do have strays out here but I had never seen this one before."

7:15 A.M.: After a series of phone calls, including one to the Carlisle Fire Co. of Milford, Mr. Worrall calls Roger Minner Wrecker Service, hoping someone there can pry the grate loose.

7:18 A.M.: Thinking one move ahead, Mr. Worrall calls the Kent County SPCA, which assigns the case - "a cat in distress" - to Cpl. David Hulse and Lt. Sherri Warburton.

7:30 A.M.: Gary Minner arrives in a one-ton hydraulic wrecker. He attaches a chain to the grate and, with a great deal of effort, pulls it free like an ice cube from a tray. Mr. Minner refuses payment for his services.

"It was definitely a different situation," Mr. Minner said. "It was like a kid putting his tongue on a flagpole."

"He was still crying," said Mr. Worrall, of the cat. "Basically saying, 'Get me out of here!'"

7:35 A.M.: The moment the grate is pried out, the cat's paws become unstuck and the animal falls straight into the icy water below. Mr. Worrall, wearing no protection, reaches in and pulls the panicked animal out, sustaining about 20 bites to his hands, and delivers it into a waiting blanket held by his girlfriend, Cheri Fuchs.

8:08 A.M.: SPCA officers are flagged down by Mr. Worrall and Ms. Fuchs at U.S. 113 and Del. 14 near Milford. They receive the bundle and head for the shelter, calling ahead to make sure the medical staff is prepared for an emergency intake. Cpl. Hulse advises the shelter that the animal "has hypothermia and is going into shock." Lt. Warburton holds the bundle in her lap and runs the defroster on the Chevy Silverado. The animal is shaking now.

ABOUT 9 A.M.: At the shelter near Camden, blankets for the animal are warmed in a dryer. Veterinarian Dr. Lea Tammi receives the cat and starts an intravenous drip of warm water and glucose in its right front leg. The doctor fills rubber gloves with warm water and places them around her patient. She determines that the cat is an adult female, about 2 years old, weighing 6 pounds. Penguin becomes one of about 60 cats housed at the shelter.

ABOUT 10 A.M.: Cpl. Hulse describes the cat as "wet, dirty, filthy, sandy," and wonders "who knows how long it had been stuck there"?

Shelter director Murray Goldthwaite learns of the new patient when he arrives for work. He doesn't speculate about whether the cat is an abandonment case or a stray, but says the animal is symptomatic of "a lot of irresponsibility out there."

The employees at Rite Aid Pharmacy, Webbs Lane and Du Pont Highway, learn about Penguin's plight and deliver a heating pad and about 20 cans of cat food, free of charge.

11 A.M.: Dr. Tammi says it will be about a week before Penguin is ready for adoption. Mr. Worrall expresses an interest in keeping the cat and renaming it Frosty.

Staff writer Al Kemp can be reached at 741-8296 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .