For residents near Ottawa, Ontario, they are extremely lucky to have a home services company that goes above and beyond. The team at Out of This World Plumbing have proven they’re there to help you…and your furry family members! And many times, this includes animals that are just passing by on their way to new lives. So for two kittens trapped by a local rescue, they gave their foster mom quite a scare. When the two scared stray kittens discovered a secret hole in her bathroom, she had to call in the professionals!
Photo courtesy of @Ottawa.Plumbing
The stray kittens apparently weren’t quite ready to come out of hiding, even safely off the streets.
Their story began as many do for felines born with no home. As strays, their mother fought just to give birth to these three gorgeous little babes. For the first 5 weeks of their lives, they lived within a feral community in Gatineau, Canada, right across the river from Ottawa. A generous pair of neighbors were feeding the cats, but they needed help trapping them.
They contacted Kelly Wilson who is the owner at Vanier Street Cats-The Poverty Line Pets Project. Kelly’s plan was to trap the family, foster them and hopefully get them adopted out. If the mom was too feral, she’d be fixed and released. But ideally the kittens were young enough to be socialized and adopted. They were dubbed “The Kitten Mafia” after a photo showing their “mugshots” was shared. Wonder if the meowfia likes snuggles….wink wink.
Photo: @vanierstreetcats
The neighbors who found them only noticed them in the last 10 days and the mother was never seen prior to that. It is my opinion that they are not likely weaned from their mother’s milk yet. I presume that mom was introducing them to cat food and moved them where people started to feed them.
Both kittens look very healthy, I estimate not older than 5 weeks so are still very immature. My concern is for hydration and elimination as they are younger than I thought.
What none of them would realize, is that this feline family were ready and willing to fight for their freedom! “Their” freedom was a bit different than our idea of freedom though. Either way, it proved to be a difficult journey. Especially with how many hoops they required their saviors to jump through.
When Kelly agreed to help catch the stray kittens and wily mom, she had no idea what her future held!
It took a day for the first 2 stray kittens and mama cat to be trapped; and they were quite a feisty trio! They would be sponsored by the Furry Tales Cat Rescue and be fostered by Kelly until socialized. Easier said than done.
The team were planning to deliver the 2 kittens and mama to Kelly’s house on the night of June 12th. But it was then that disaster struck. When the feeder tired to transfer mama cat into a carrier, she escaped their clutches! Sadly, she headed right for a barely opened screened window and surprised them all by bolting right through the flimsy barrier.
(Not actual mama cat)
Even knowing that she’d likely be harder to trap again now, they will NEVER give up on her–or the third kitten. Kelly was happy to remind everyone coming across the story on social media of that.
The actual thought that the mother will not be caught never crossed my mind! I have more reasons than kittens for doing what I do.
Because I know all of the reasons why leaving one mother behind is not only cruel, leaving one mother behind means there will be more kittens lives to save! I have a vested interest in preventing instead of having to respond to the problem as it gets larger.
But as mama made her escape, she clearly departed some shady wisdom on her two boys left in the humans care.
The brothers, now named Bugsy and Clyde, were obviously frightened in the new surroundings. But mama cat must have taught them how to “jailbreak” because the two little rascals discovered an escape tunnel! Or so they thought.
Photo: @vanierstreetcats ~ Clyde being crazy
Unbeknownst to Kelly, there was a section in her rental apartment bathroom that was not quite what it seemed. A small section in the corner of Kelly’s apartment bathtub wasn’t in fact completely dry-walled!
The two sneaky kittens burrowed through the hole and under the tub right after their feeding. This meant trying to draw them out with food wasn’t going to work. Kelly could hear them under the tub and immediately called some very experienced plumbers.
Here is where the “Out of This World” staff truly prove their newly re-branded name is purrfect!
Formerly DS Plumbing they are famous in their area for stepping up for animals however they can. Even though it was well into the overtime hours, team member Trevor was quick to head to the site.
Photo courtesy of @Ottawa.Plumbing — The Hero Trevor!!!
Eventually the curious kittens made their way down into the ceiling of the apartment below Kelly’s–her landlords home. Thankfully her landlord is very understanding, but they needed to get the kittens out without damaging the apartments. They were able to open the hole in the shower for a better angle though since it needed repairs anyways.
All while poor Kelly was simultaneously freaking out–and we’d have been right there with her.
I had no idea that the wall at the tub was TAPE and not actual drywall! I AM VERY AFRAID, the kitten’s lives are in danger, and I feel so responsible, I really didn’t know that wasn’t a wall. Please can you help me rescue them AGAIN, I haven’t even trapped mom yet we are still trying.
I blocked off the ENTIRE cupboard, I’m using it for storage and in the bathroom I have repaired it, there is no way they are getting through there.
Photo: @vanierstreetcats
After listening to the stray kittens within the walls, they eventually made their way into the hands of their new rescuers.
Kelly shared the photos of the scene of the attempted escape with the adventurous timeline.
They were in the bathroom. They found a small hole, it took me a while to find it I ripped that out so I could fix it. That’s the hole under the sink where they went down into the ceiling.
Photo courtesy of @Ottawa.Plumbing
That’s Trevor who finally found them on the cam and showed my neighbor and me before we tried to cut through the ceiling.
Photo courtesy of @Ottawa.Plumbing
As a cat rescuer, you have to learn to laugh after the fact though. Otherwise you’ll never keep going through all the chaos.
That’s them figuring out how to dig a hole into the roof while I post this and work on blocking off the hole so I can put them back in the bathroom.
You should have seen them last night trying to get through the same hole the little orange and white one is on a mission to take the repair apart. He finally gave up around 7 a.m. after his little brother covered the activity by mewing all night long. They are little gangsta partners in crime.
Photo: @vanierstreetcats
Thank you to everyone feeding, saving, re-saving and helping these stray kittens find safety and loving homes!
Please be sure to follow Kelly on social media at Vanier Street Cats-The Poverty Line Pets Project.
Vanier Street Cats is a personal project created to prove the need for spay/neuter in the City of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. We are NOT A TYPICAL ANIMAL RESCUE. #VSC works with local abandoned cats and banned breed dogs.
I will not be a Charity or a Non-Profit as I run my rescue as a business at a loss. Using alternatives to financial requests we seek support in the form tangible items and redirecting donation funds to local veterinarians for medical and spay/neuter care.
DEBIT or PAYPAL: vanierstreetcatsproject@gmail.com
Photo: @vanierstreetcats
They have still not trapped the mama cat or third kitten, but there are great updates!
Kitten is sunbathing on the deck outside the house. They are still trap shy but the person there is making them trust again. We’re not leaving without them, gonna get them and put them together again.
And everyone give a shout-out to Out of This World Plumbing for never giving up!
Also, this isn’t the first time the amazing animal loving company has helped save the lives of it’s communities animals. Or the first time we’ve been lucky enough to tell their story (see related story at end of article).
Kelly is beyond grateful to them too.
Thank you so much for coming I am very grateful to Trevor and you know what? He’s a catmantoo! He almost had one of the kittens walk into his hand but then the kitten heard me and took off!
Trevor is AWESOME thank you once again, we are sending head bumps and purrs to the best company in Ottawa the Cat Men and Ladies too. We can never than MEW ENOUGH Dave and Wendy for being the go-to place for rescuers whose pet that manage to get in the weirdest places.
**I mean even we at Cole & Marmalade fully appreciate these hilarious posts for “Hug your cat day” or “Hug a plumber day”!!! <3
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hnNWvNMWlIo&fbclid=IwAR1aCo9y15DLe11X4mg_hxE62-ahLQm4PzThE_xp-AFRjeWSDXiyYgOWTRM
REMEMBER: SPAY/NEUTER, FOSTER, VOLUNTEER, TNR & AS ALWAYS, ADOPT, DON’T SHOP!
Related DS Plumbing Story: Wily Feral Cat Family Gives Rescuers & Plumbers “Run Fur Their Money”….Twice!
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