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I was just sitting in my room and my aunt told me there's a kitty cat right on a small hole in the middle of the alley trying to get out but when i went to get him out a car was just passed and it made him fall in there...

I really hurried but the damn car was already passed and the cat was fallen, i looked in the hole with my phone's flashlight and it seems like maybe 6~10meters under ground and i think its dry in there. (but i think its wastewater, i don't know!)

I don't know the right english word for it but there's a door to the ground (!) like a round circle disk... it looks kind of plumbed and clunged, i don't know if these are the right words i'm just searching them from the dictionary!

So what should i do? i really feel bad! I know my aunt should've get him out herself, but "she's afraid of cats" ! what's there to be afraid of especially when he's life is in danger!? And trust me, in a city/country where there's no animal control and there are holes in the middle of ground; the 911/fire departement don't care about a cat! so no hopes from them!

Update: I just looked in the hole again with my phone's light and i saw him standing looking at the ground like the how most animal do when they're looking for food i guess! he wasn't that much small but he wasn't an adult cat either.

So now i'm sure that its dry down there and there was some garbage...

Update 2: I called the fire departement and the person who answered said call tommorow morning in daylight we can't come now for such problem and its dark now... (its 12:40 PM here) i just hope he survives it down there and they come tommorow.

Update 3: I called them again and they said this kind of problem isn't something we can do something about! and if you're really feeling bad and pity about him you can try sending a cotton rope in there and when he grabed it pull him up... I think i'm gonna try this!

Update 4: I just used a Laser and a flashlight again and i saw him again so i rushed back in to home and told people to come and see him but when they came he wasn't there! maybe the laser light scared him away! Are they scared of laser light? should i not use the laser again?

I read in an article in wikihow that a laser light (dot) can make a cat on a tree to follow the dot and get out of the tree thats why i used the laser...

Fortunately even though they didn't see the cat it made them believe me and understand the cat is really down there, so my aunt called a pet doctor she knew and he said if you're really sure the cat is down there alive, I know a group that will risk their life to come and save him. I'll keep this topic updated...

Update 5: So two man came and they really looked in the hole with a better flashlight they had and the other one even tied his phone to a wire and wraped it with a tape... and send his phone down there while it was recording and it's flashlight was on, but the recorded video didn't really had a perfect quality (it wasn't bad though, just not perfect) and we didn't see the cat in the video but we saw that it seems like this hole was connected to another one like this was a stair to another level of ground...

But before they came my cousin said he saw the cat! so thankfully there's lower doubts and we know he's still alive. The man tried talking to the cat i don't know how to say this in english, he was like making kissing sounds and stuff like that to make the cat come to us... He said the cat can't grab this rope and we need fabric so we clew some old clothes and send them down there and he said let this be in there so if he sees it he grabs it and climbs up... i'm not gonna sleep tonight to keep checking... wish/pray us luck guys!

Update 6: There is a lot of good and bad news, but i'm really tired now, i'll update here later. just wanted to let you know that i didn't give up!

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    I think calling for local help was exactly the right action. It isn't something that deserves a 911call -- that should be reserved for real emergencies -- but the police or fire department genera information phone staff is used to getting this kind of call, and will know who needs to be told.
    – keshlam
    May 3, 2015 at 1:26
  • @keshlam As i said in "Update 3" they didn't really help!
    – Soheil SH
    May 3, 2015 at 7:54
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    Voting up. Knowing what to do in this situation can be useful to any of us. Let us know if the cotton rope works. Best wishes, hope you'll be able to save him! May 3, 2015 at 9:29
  • Have you asked the local shelter or humane society whether they can help?
    – keshlam
    May 3, 2015 at 14:40
  • @keshlam I don't think if such thing exist here! Most people here don't care about animals... Like if you kill a homeless dog and bring it to the mayoralty (city hall...) you'll recieve a fee! seriously! And you asked where i am, I'm in Iran. (ISLAMIC Republic Of Iran, I don't know how is not helping an helpless animal not islamic! it's one of islam's serious sins to harm animals and any intellegent living thing... Its firefighters/fire departement's duty to help in this kind of situation, but... And for the record i'm not an religious muslim, i have my own bliefs, i just mentioned islam***
    – Soheil SH
    May 3, 2015 at 15:26

2 Answers 2

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Your idea of putting a rope, down the hole for the cat to climb up is a good start. It may or may not work. If it does please post an answer on what you did to make it work, so others can learn by your experience.

The hole as you describe it makes it seem like it might be a rain water drain system so it is very likely that the cat may just follow the underground tunnels and find his own way out.

The safest interactive way for everyone is to use a live trap, and lower it down for the cat to go in and be lifted out. This assumes that the hole is large enough for you to lower the set trap on your rope. If you can't SAFELY open the lid to the hole, if the hole is too narrow, if the trap will not stay set while being lowered this solution will not work for you.

A live trap is specifically designed to catch animals without harming them so they can be safely captured, handled and transported. Sometimes these work the first time and sometimes you use different food as bait or other changes. Notice in the picture they put cardboard down to cover the wire bottom and make it more friendly.

Before lowering the live trap, you will want to experiment with it. It will be important that you set the trigger so that it does not go off accidentally while lowering it and that it is still loose enough for the cat to set it off.

Cat walking into live trap with food

Video of trap in action https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EJ3MjbJYQpU

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  • I'll definitely update this topic for any news or result/success... Yes i think its a rain water drain system too, but i don't know if there's a way out or anything like that... I tried attaching a piece of meat at the end of the rope. The hole isn't large enough for a trap, its about maybe 15cm (tops) wide. I called a cat lover i knew and she said call the firefighters and i told her i already did and they said its non of our bussines, then she called back and told me i called them and they told me the same thing and i told them i hope you fall in a hole some day! :| :D she told me let the***
    – Soheil SH
    May 3, 2015 at 14:22
  • ***the rope be there and check every while to see if the kitten is back. I really hope he finds his way out or if there's no way then i hope he won't suffer, just thinking of him beeing alive for at least 1 week and dying out of hunger makes me feel really bad! I think cats (even kittens) make it at least 1 to 3 weeks without food.
    – Soheil SH
    May 3, 2015 at 14:27
  • You haven't said where you are ... if it's a storm drain system, then i'd try contacting the department in charge of that. However, in that case it's also quite possible that the cat cas gone exploring for another exit and may be a mile away by now, unless it was injured in the fall. So i'd suggest that tirst step is to see whether the cat is actually still there. Rather than a rope and hoping the cat can (and does( hold on, leaving a long branch, supported so it won't rotate, might work as a cat ladder. One hazard of a trap is that you risk catching something you don't want to deal with (rat)
    – keshlam
    May 3, 2015 at 14:40
  • ... which points out that there may be prey he can live on down there. It's not a good situation, but it may not be as bleak as it seems.
    – keshlam
    May 3, 2015 at 14:42
  • Update 4: I just used a Laser and a flashlight again and i saw him again so i rushed back in to home and told people to come and see him but when they came he wasn't there! maybe the laser light scared him away! Are they scared of laser light? should i not use the laser again? I read in an article in wikihow that a laser light (dot) can make a cat on a tree to follow the dot and get out of the tree thats why i used the laser... Fortunately even though they didn't see the cat it made them believe me and think the cat is really down there, so my aunt called a pet doctor she knew and he said***
    – Soheil SH
    May 3, 2015 at 14:58
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Get a long pole, like what is used to clean out swimming pools. Use tape to tape rags or old towels to the pole. Lower the pole into the hole. That gives the cat something to sink her claws into, and can climb out. I once rescued a family of Possums in similar circumstances with this method.

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