Swansea Rescue Mission Saves Life of Calvin the Cat

A rescue mission was underway on Tuesday morning when a Swansea man found a cat stuck in a storm drain by his home.

The cat named Calvin had managed to wiggle his head through the grate but was unsuccessful in getting the rest of his body out, but thanks to the quick action of the kind stranger, Calvin’s life was saved.

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“A resident near Harbor Road had walked out to his driveway and heard a faint meowing, and then saw the cat in the grate,” said Lisa White, the Animal Control Officer of Swansea.

The resident’s home is by the water and White suspects that Calvin had found his way into a storm drain by the water and attempted to exit the storm drain through the grate. That attempt left Calvin dangling from the grate, crying for help.

“(The resident) called the police, notified us, and when we got down there, we quickly realized he wasn’t coming out,” said White. “We called the highway department, and it was a team effort to save Calvin.”

The team of helpers lifted the drain with Calvin still very much stuck in the grate.

“We had to transport the drain (with Calvin) which weighed about 80 pounds all the way to Mass RI Emergency Hospital,” said White.

Calvin remained trapped in the grate while the team at Mass RI sedated him in White’s car.

With the help of sedation, a little medical lubrication, and a lot of dish soap, the doctors were able to wiggle Calvin free.

Calvin was brought back to the Swansea Animal Shelter to recover, and he was one angry kitty.

“He wouldn’t eat, he was snarling at everyone, and he was just sad,” said White. “But when his mommy came through the door, he was a different cat.”

After sharing photos of Calvin online, the shelter was able to locate his owner, who came racing to the shelter with tears in her eyes.

“Apparently Calvin gets into a lot of trouble,” said White. “The owner recently caught him eating a pillow and had to get obstruction surgery. He’s just one of those cats that have used up two lives out of nine."

Thankfully this story has a happy ending, but hopefully, Calvin will stay out of trouble for a little while this time.