This happy ending story comes out of Meridian Township, Michigan where a cat named Noelle found herself stuck inside an underground concrete space beneath the chimney of her owner’s home. Noelle….chimney….Christmas….hhmmmm….
Noelle is a three-year-old blue cream tortoise-shell who decided to investigate somewhere she shouldn’t at her 4200 block on Indian Glen Drive home in Okemos.
Fire Captain Matthew Walters of the Meridian Township Fire Department said the call came in around 10:30 a.m. Thursday after the family heard Noelle crying out. Owner Stacy Greborunis and the firefighters believe Noelle fell into the 8-inch-by 14-inch space when she fell climbing some boxes.
The family had last seen Noelle around 10 p.m. Wednesday night. She’s been a part of the family since December 2015 when she showed up at the doorstep with wounds to her neck and stomach.
The fire department tried everything from laser pointers to fishing poles to a baseball training stick to try to lure Noelle out. Even a bucket of food put down by rope couldn’t get her out of the tight spot.
Captain Walters stated in an interview with Lansing State Journal
“I’ve had a lot of cats caught in trees. This one didn’t have an option to crawl out.”
The firefights finally found a way out after two hours of work. Noelle was lassoed out of the space by constructing a plastic dog leash borrowed from an Ingham County Animal Control officer.
Stacy says the officers were rewarded for their hard work and ingenuity.
“It’s a Christmas miracle! We gave them a cheesecake because that’s all I had (in my house) that wasn’t touched. We are so grateful.”
A backup plan was in place to contact the township’s building department for advice, should the original lasso plan fail. Noelle’s latest adventure leaves the family wondering just how many lives Noelle has. Great job, everyone! Noelle was unharmed and the firefighters got cheesecake!
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Photos courtesy of Stacy Greborunis.
Cats get into the strangest predicaments.