Maine Coon Meg rescued in nick of time

Clare Gardner sits near the hole in her lounge  cut by a builder to rescue her cat Meg from...
Clare Gardner sits near the hole in her lounge cut by a builder to rescue her cat Meg from rising floodwater. Photo Stephen Jaquiery.

A fat cat trapped under a Dunedin house with floodwater rising owes its lives to a quick-thinking builder who made a last-gasp rescue attempt.

Clare Gardner, of Caversham, said her 8-year-old purebred Maine Coon cat Meg and Meg's brother Walnut were sheltering from heavy rain under the house in Baker St on Wednesday.

The heavy rain quickly flooded the back yard and the floodwaters advanced towards the house.

Sensing danger, Walnut dived in the floodwater, swam through a hole in the side of the house and paddled to the deck, but ''timid'' Meg missed her chance and was trapped under the house.

Ms Gardner heard a ''desperate'' Meg cry and called Otago SPCA inspector Rachel Stedman, who called builder Steve McGuire.

Firefighters were outside pumping water from the street and tried to use a crowbar to remove cladding to make an exit path, but Meg remained trapped.

Mr McGuire arrived and ripped up decking on the porch and removed cladding on the side of the house, but Meg's cries continued as she remained trapped under the floorboards in the lounge.

''I'm still shaking. It was the most awful thing to hear,'' Ms Gardner said.

Mr McGuire ripped up a corner of carpet and used a circular saw to cut a hole in the floorboards that was large enough for Miss Stedman to pull Meg to safety.

A hypothermic Meg had been in the cold water for more than an hour and was rushed to South Dunedin vet Humanimals and put in an incubator to recover.

Ms Gardner wanted to thank the ''wonderful'' Mr McGuire and the ''on to it'' Miss Stedman.

Meg would have died if it was not for their quick thinking.

Miss Stedman said Mr McGuire cut the hole about 40cm from the ''terrified and shaking'' cat.

''It was on the ball.''

Miss Stedman put ''half of her upper body'' in the floodwater to pull the cat to safety.

Meg had ''about 2 inches of air'' available and probably would have not survived much longer, Miss Stedman said.

Meg was the only animal Otago SPCA had to rescue during the flooding but it was a reminder for animal owners to provide adequate food and shelter for animals in heavy rainfall, she said.

shawn.mcavinue@odt.co.nz

Add a Comment

 

Advertisement