Just had the WORST scare!

sweetkara

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Oh my gosh I'm so shaken still! I just had the fire dept, animal control and the police at my condo...

This morning I took my cat Kara to the vet for a dental follow-up. When I got home I thought it was odd my other cat Luke didn't greet us at the door.

I heard him in the spare bedroom-- he had the cover off the a/c vent on the floor and all I saw was his tail sticking out of the hole in the floor!

I tried pulling him out but he was struggling too much. And then he disappeared down the vent in the floor!!

I stuck my arm in and didn't hear and feel him-- I started to flip out-- crying like crazy! I tossed Kara in the bathroom so I wouldn't lose her too.

I called him but heard nothing-- he could be anywhere! I was worried the air duct lead to outside or into someone elses condo. I was seriously panicking and thought I'd never see him again.

I called 911 and they said they'd send someone. I called my fiance- he said he'd try to leave work.

The police, fire dept and animal control pulled up after about 5 minutes. They looked in the vents with flashlights, banged on the floor, etc. for about 15 mins and then one of the firemen pointed to my bedroom and said "hey is that him!"

Luke was sitting in my bedroom-- he came out of another vent! I grabbed him and hugged him SO hard! I really thought he was gone forever.

He is FILTHY and so am I from hugging him but I don't care.. I'll have my fiance give him a bath when he gets home


Has anyone else's cat ever done this? I put heavy books over all my vents right now until I can figure out what else to do. Luke is a big STRONG boy and can move heavy things-- any suggestions?
 

GoldyCat

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Wow! I'd be freaking out, too.
for you and your furbabies. I would suggest superglue, except that you'll probably want to take the vents off at some point in the future. My vents are all on the walls up by the ceiling and have screws to hold them in place. Can you put screws through the covers you have, or get new covers that come with screws?
 

StefanZ

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Nice to hear all these helpers did really come really ASAP...



Dont forget to send them some token of appreciation!


Lady Luck was with you all!
 
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sweetkara

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Originally Posted by StefanZ

Nice to hear all these helpers did really come really ASAP...

:
I was surprised they came so fast. I do live on an island, though, where nothing much happens..lol

But I thought they'd be like -- eh we'll get there when we get there.
 

darlili

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I agree - I'd take them some cookies, or write your village or city hall praising all of the responders, or do both - that is, once your heart stops pounding!

My wall vents have very long long screws holding them in place - and tonight I'm going to check each and every one of them for security.

You know, that had to be comical to see the fireman pointing at a dusty cat who was no doubt calmly watching everyone - and someday you will laugh about this, but boy, what a day you've had!
 

carolina

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Oh God, that's scary!
My vents are all screwed into place too... If you rent the apartment, can you talk to the manager about covering them?

Isn't it nice to know people will come to our animals' rescue if we need them to?
 

jcat

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What an experience! It's funny now that it's clear that Luke is just fine, but I can imagine how scared you were. I think you definitely need to replace the vent covers with heavy ones that are a tight fit if you can't screw them down.
Originally Posted by darlili

I agree - I'd take them some cookies, or write your village or city hall praising all of the responders, or do both - that is, once your heart stops pounding!
 

cheylink

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OMG! I totally now this panic and almost exact situation! I think it was 7 or 8 years ago, Pandi and I were staying at my Aunt's house over 4th of July week while they were on vacation. She traveled with me regularly there, atleast twice a month and loved it there! Any way, On the 4th of July afternoon, I hadn't seen her for an hour or so, so I started calling her and looking for her....I looked everywhere, didn't take long for me to start freaking out! Eventually I started hearing this faint meow in an upstairs room. She had fallen down a vent duct that wasn't covered, and I don't know why, from the second floor, down past the first, into the basement, but not somewhere easy to get to, at all! She was 14 years old, very healthy, but it was literally an Animal Planet rescue story! Remember it was the 4th of July, I called the family friend then called the police. Within 15 minutes there was 3 cop cars and a fire truck in the driveway, I was a crying mess and they told my friend to please take me outside because I was freaking out so much. We had to smash out a huge hole in the wall in the dining room, this is a early 1900's Tudor cottage....lots of plaster and riveting. Then once there was access to the thick metal duct, we had to cut a whole into it. We knew she was just below this area. Of course after all this deafening noise, she wasn't about to come out and had actually crawled into this tiny area. I knew she wouldn't come out with all the people there, so everyone left. It took some time but eventually she crawled back into the main area where I reached down and scooped her out. After making sure she was unharmed, cleaned her off because she was a dusty mess, I was so grateful I just cried squeezing her telling her how much I loved her!
Of course the next day I had to deal with the huge hole in my family's dining room! Thank god I am a handy girl, already very efficient with home repairs, and was able to fix all the damages professionally with just the cost of supplies and the flowers I sent the local police dept.!!!!!
 

tim w

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I suggest covers with screws. That would be your best method of security if you ask me. Glad everythings safe though.
 

momofmany

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Originally Posted by Tim W

I suggest covers with screws. That would be your best method of security if you ask me. Glad everythings safe though.
I agree.

My Eightball got into our vents when we were doing our kitchen remodel. The floor vents were all removed one day and I didn't notice it until I heard a meow coming from one of them. He crawled through them to the furnace, then fell inside of it (it was turned off that day). I had to dismantle the furnace to get him out. I put heavy boxes over the holes until the work was done, then got the vents that screw into place.

Yup - it scares the heck out of you.
 
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