Cairo Association of Teachers - Newsletter

CAT Tracks for April 13, 2006 IT TAKES A VILLAGE...

...to raise a CAT...from the cellar!

From CNN.com...

Raw fish, tiny camera and drills to the rescue

NEW YORK (AP) -- Rescuers used drills, miniature cameras and a raw fish Wednesday to try to lure a kitten that has been trapped for 12 days behind a delicatessen's basement wall.

The effort to free 11-month-old Molly, the deli's resident mouser, was renewed early in the day, when workers heard her meowing after days of silence that had raised fears she had died.

An animal-rescue team tried using a tiny video camera attached to a plumber's snake on Wednesday, but the sound of its drill may have spooked the peripatetic pussycat into retreating farther into the maze of walls in the 19th century brick structure in Greenwich Village.

"This is the most difficult case of this kind I've ever been on," said Mike Pastore, field director of Animal Care & Control of New York City, which handles animal rescues for the city.

Normally Molly sleeps in a basket inside Myers of Keswick, a specialty deli offering clotted cream, Scotch eggs and other British foods.

Owner Peter Myers, 61, said he periodically pays a $300 fine for the health violation, "but if I didn't have the cat I would be paying a $300 fine for having mice in the store. I saw a mouse running across the kitchen floor this morning."

Building is protected landmark

Molly, being a curious sort, apparently got trapped after slipping into a narrow space between two buildings, then falling or crawling through a hole to reach the deli cellar, Pastore said.

The police and fire departments have been on the scene but as of Wednesday were leaving the job to Pastore, whose agency receives about 120 stray or surrendered dogs and cats a day for temporary care and adoption.

Breaking into the walls is a delicate proposition because the building is a city landmark, Pastore said. Three observers from the city's Landmarks Preservation Commission showed up Wednesday to make sure no serious structural damage occurs.

Others were pitching in to help. Neighbors left cans of cat food on the steps, and nearby restaurateur Renato Migliorini delivered a fresh, whole branzino fish.

"I hope it will come out, because I love cats and dogs," Migliorini said.

Pastore wasn't sure Molly could reach the food, and it was unclear whether she has access to water dripping from a drain.

Update from the Associated Press...Molly B Free!

NYC Cat Finally Rescued After 14 Days

By TIM McCAHILL (Associated Press Writer)

NEW YORK - Molly the cat is finally free. After two weeks stuck behind a brick wall in a 19th century building, the bashful 11-month-old feline was rescued from her plight Friday night by a volunteer who found her wedged in a crawl space between bricks and a piece of sheet metal.

At the end of the ordeal, the black cat emerged from the building lying in a metal cage - calm and docile as cameras flashed and onlookers cooed.

"I think you'll all agree that she is in great shape," said Peter Myers, who owns the delicatessen housed in the building and kept Molly in his store to catch mice.

Her first meal? Nibbles of roasted pork, sardines in oil and water, Myers said.

Hearty fare, but perhaps not surprising for a feline who spends her time in Myers of Keswick, a deli specializing in meat pies, clotted cream and other British food specialties.

Molly's ordeal became international news this week as reporters and onlookers gathered to hear her distressed meows. Rescuers drilled and hammered out bricks in the cellar of the 157-year-old building and tried everything from special cameras to traps to get her out.

They even tried using kittens as bait to appeal to Molly's maternal side. A pet psychic and self-described "cat therapist" offered their aid. But it appeared that good, old-fashioned elbow grease ended up doing the job.

Resuers drilled a hole in the wall from inside the store, cutting through three layers of brick to get to Molly, said Mike Pastore, field director for Animal Care & Control, a private organization with a city contract to handle lost, injured and unwanted animals.

She was finally retrieved by a tunnel worker who was working on a project nearby and has been volunteering for the rescue effort.