When a group of passers-by’s noticed a frightened cat struggling in a canal, they put their heads together. Using a bit of ingenuity, these rescuers devised a way to rescue the drowning orange kitty, but not without a few scary missteps along the way. On this particular Monday morning, February 21 2022, in Jalan Besar, Singapore, Jessica Tse was walking by the canal next to the local community club.
Rescuers Work Together
As she watched the rescuers trying to figure out their best options to rescue the cat, Jessica, who was with her husband and son at the time, began filming, Mothership reports. It was about 6:30 p.m. and Tse noted “there was already a man there with an extended dustpan trying to scoop the cat out, but it kept falling off.” The dustpan was simply too loose and kept sliding down the stick, causing the ginger cat to lose its balance and fall back into the water.
GIF images via Must Share News from video by Jessica Tse
Then someone found a fishing net that was attached to a long stick and they passed that to the person using the dustpan. Tse noted that didn’t work either and the struggling cat fell into the water again!
Video by News Videos:
The poor cat wailed helplessly but the rescuers weren’t about to give up. It was at this point that Tse and her husband realized they had something that could help: an umbrella!
“Then my husband and I realized we had our umbrella with us, and I had my phone charger USB cord with me, so I used that to tie a knot to secure the umbrella to the long stick, which worked.”
At least six people took part in the rescue. Jessica’s husband, wearing a dark blue shirt, was one of two men who climbed over the railing and lowered the umbrella/contraption into the water. One of the men held onto the stick of the fishing net, while Jessica’s husband held onto the long stick holding the umbrella.
☂️ If At First, You Don’t Succeed…
Even then there was a small mishap. The cat managed to climb onto the umbrella, which suddenly turned inside out, likely due to the extra weight from the drenched cat. Fortunately, the men used the net to keep the kitty still and it was able to hang on as they lifted the contraption out of the water.
And when it became clear that this baby was going to be safe, the crowd broke out in sighs of relief and applause. The kitty kept meowing loudly as it was being pulled over the railing and was obviously quite afraid. But now it was safe, thanks to six kind strangers who worked together to rescue this struggling cat whose fate could have been far worse.
Image by Jessica Tse/Must Share News
Part 2 of the video by News Videos:
Tse added that someone in the crowd told her that the cat belonged to a nearby resident. While she left not long after the cat’s rescue, she says the cat seems safe and sound and it walked off, hopefully to a home where it can rest.
We hope the best for this scared little kitty and that it will be safe, healthy, and happy now that this harrowing ordeal is over.
Photos courtesy of Jessica Tse, and Red Umbrella by PublicDomainPictures via Pixabay, Pixabay License
