Cats have nine lives, which is a good thing for a kitten that was rescued from a storm drain in Chelmsford on Oct. 8.
Baylee Dequanne, who works at Dairy Queen, was walking home after her shift on Oct. 7 when something in a nearby storm drain caught her attention.
“I saw this little kitten, full of mud, and half of her body was caught in the storm drain as she was trying to get out,” Dequanne said.
The only way for the kitten to get out was to go back into the storm drain, she said. Inside the drain, the kitten hung onto a ledge on the side with its front paws. Dequanne ran back to Dairy Queen to get some help.
“I didn't know who to contact, and I was freaking out,” she said.
Dairy Queen co-owner Jennifer Mallette put a callout on Facebook asking for any assistance in freeing the kitten from its confines. Responses to her message suggested a number of avenues, including calling the fire department, animal control and the city.
That was at 7:15 p.m., but no one was able to answer the call for help at that time.
When Dequanne went back to the kitten, it had fallen deeper into the storm drain. She couldn't see the little fur ball, but she could hear soft meows coming from the darkness.
“I was scared, because there was water at the bottom,” she said. “We tried lifting up the drain, but we couldn't get it. I'm an animal lover, and I wouldn't want anything to be stuck down there like this.”
At that point, a person who answered the call for help managed to squeeze into the storm drain, but the kitten had wiggled its way into one of the adjoining pipes. The would-be rescuer couldn't see the kitten, but a video taken with her cellphone showed small cat eyes reflecting from deep within the pipe.
Unfortunately, they weren't able to entice the kitten to come out, so they were left with no other choice but to head home for the night, a restless night, Dequanne said.
She busied herself trying to look online for other services to help, but to no avail.
“I couldn't sleep, and then it started pouring,” she said. “I was bawling my eyes out, because I didn't want to just let her sit there in the storm drain.”
The next morning, on her way to work, she stopped by the storm drain to see if the kitten was still there, but she couldn't see it.
With a heavy heart, she went on about her work day, until that afternoon when she noticed people gathering outside, around the storm drain.
It was at about 2:30 p.m. on Oct. 8 that animal control showed up, and passersby stopped, too. They opened up the storm drain, and one of the concerned citizens climbed into the sewer and managed to grab hold of the kitten and bring her out.
Dequanne decided she wanted to bring the kitten home with her.
“I love this cat,” she said. “She has lots of character, and is fitting right in at my house. Now that she's safe, I want her to grow old with me.”
Other than a small gash above her left eye, and a damaged tail, "Blizzard," as Dequanne named her (because she works at Dairy Queen, get it?) is no worse for wear. She was scheduled for a vet appointment earlier this week.
A happy end to this cat's tale.
