A cat’s escapade atop a Kochi Metro pillar and its dramatic rescue brought much of Sahodaran Ayyappan Road to a standstill on Sunday afternoon.
Bijoy K. Peter, an officer of the Fire and Rescue Services, which was assigned on Sunday morning to rescue the cat, remained crouched atop the Metro pillar near Vyttila Junction for about an hour before it could be coaxed out of its spot on the pillar.
As the fire services ladder fell way short, Kochi Metro Rail Ltd. supplied a man lift crane that carried two more officers to the top of the pillar. Manoeuvres from the crane to get the cat into a net failed, and the animal was forced out of its hiding place and pushed straight into a safety net stretched several feet below by animal lovers. A loud cheer from onlookers erupted.
“The cat was scared and would run into corners. It was like working in a small tunnel-like space because my movement on the pillar was severely restricted,” Mr. Peter said.
The added fear that it might climb onto the electrified Metro line kept the personnel on their toes since the trains continued to ply right above.
Five days ago, Rennan Pillai, who runs a store near Vyttila Junction, heard the mewling of a cat, but failed to spot it anywhere at the ground level. A chance glance upwards and he found it perched on a Metro pillar nearby.
“I called the Fire and Rescue Services that day, but they said they rarely carried out animal rescue services anymore. A media report on Sunday morning might have prompted the rescue,” Mr. Rennan said.
Despite its five-day ordeal and exciting fall from a height, the cat was healthy and taken to a vet. How the animal landed on the pillar remains a mystery.
