One November evening, Janine Dawson went for a walk through her neighborhood in Manchester, England. As she walked past her neighbor’s house, she heard distressed meows. Dawson knew her neighbor had a cat, and so she immediately started worrying that something was wrong with him.
Dawson ran up to her neighbor’s house and looked for the cat, Simba. His cries were getting louder, but she didn’t see him.
Finally, Dawson found the cat. To her shock, he was wedged between two houses. The cat had somehow crawled into the narrow gap between the houses, and now, he couldn’t get himself out.
Dawson immediately called the RSPCA, and they sent animal collector Emma Pollard and inspector Nichola Waterworth to help free the cat. The inspectors were shocked when they saw where the cat was trapped.
“The poor cat was well and truly stuck in the gap and was crying very loudly,” Pollard said in a press release. “At one point, I feared we wouldn’t be able to free him.”
Pollard tried to pull Simba out, but the gap was too narrow for her. After a few more unsuccessful attempts, Pollard and Waterworth decided it would be best to contact the fire department. Two firefighters quickly came out to help.
The firefighters decided to remove a few bricks to make it easier for them to reach Simba. But then, Simba suddenly started moving—seeing all the rescuers seemed to give him a burst of energy. Simba was able to move close enough to the firefighters that they could reach in and grab him.
The firefighters pulled Simba out of the gap, and he gratefully curled up in their arms.
The RSPCA inspectors brought Simba to the vet, and the vet quickly gave him the all-clear. Dawson brought Simba home, where he was reunited with his worried owner, Sonia Anwar.
“I work during the day but normally when I come home from work and park on the driveway Simba always comes running up to meet me, but he didn’t that day,” Anwar said. “When I got back home that evening, Janine came out to meet me and I knew straight away there would be something wrong with Simba. I’m so grateful to her and those who rescued him.”
Pollard is so happy that she was able to reunite Simba with his loving owner.
“It’s great when a rescue like this has a happy ending and we are able to reunite a much-loved pet with their owner,” Pollard said.
Simba has now recovered from his ordeal, and he still loves exploring more than anything else. Hopefully, the cat stays away from any more gaps between houses in the future!
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