Caught on camera: Rescue team saves 4-week-old kitten from drain in Selden

A rescue team crawled through a sewer drain to save a trapped kitten in Selden Thursday night.

News 12 Staff

Sep 21, 2019, 2:19 AM

Updated 1,685 days ago

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A rescue team crawled through a sewer drain to save a trapped kitten in Selden Thursday night.

Frank Floridia of Strong Island Animal Rescue League says he got a call around 9 p.m. that a kitten was stuck in a storm drain underneath Larry Road South in Selden.

He says neighbors told the fire department that they heard the 4-week-old kitten's cries for 24 hours before the group was able to come and get him out.

Floridia says the rescue required a team of many. "We needed to get the best rescuers around together to get down there. We had to have a small guy who was able to get through the tunnel, we had to have to somebody to lift the sewer drains off, and we needed somebody with powerful lights," he says.

Floridia and another rescuer went down more than 20 feet into the sewer while streaming live on social media.

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After more than 2 hours, the kitten was rescued.

Melissa Murphy, the kitten's foster owner, says she named kitten Willy after one of his rescuers.

Murphy says it won't be long before they can find him a permanent home.

"When he's about 2 pounds he will be able to get fixed, get his shots and then he can be out up for adoption," she says.


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