Soap couldn’t free trapped kitten from tire rim. So rescuers use spoon — and a saw
After finding a kitten stuck in his car’s spare tire, a California man stopped at a nearby fire station.
The Garden Grove firefighters’ first thought was to use soap to ease the kitten out of the tire’s rim, Orange County Fire Authority said in a July 31 post on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Alas, soap didn’t do the trick, and firefighters were forced to go about the rescue with a bit riskier approach — one that required a saw and spoon.
.jpeg "stuckkitten_fitted (1).jpeg")
Firefighters used one of their truck’s reciprocating saws to carefully cut the tire’s rim, while also “using a large spoon to protect the kitten from the blade and water to cool the area as they worked,” the agency said.
“The biggest thing is not harming the kitten further,” Alex Swanson, an engineer with the agency, told KCAL News. “I knew that we were going to be successful … and it all worked out.”
A video shared by the agency shows one firefighter propping up the tire as another gingerly pushes and pulls the kitten.
“Great success,” a rescuer says as the kitten is freed, the video shows.
“Hey, dude!” another can he beard saying.
.jpeg "stuckkitten_fitted (3).jpeg")
After rescuers freed the kitten, it headed home with the man who found it trapped in the tire.
.jpeg "stuckkitten_fitted (4).jpeg")
“While some stories about cats and curiosity don’t always end well, this one did,” rescuers said.
Garden Grove is about a 35-mile drive southeast of downtown Los Angeles.
This story was originally published July 31, 2024 at 1:13 PM with the headline "Soap couldn’t free trapped kitten from tire rim. So rescuers use spoon — and a saw."
