By COLLEEN MASTONY
Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
Oct. 15, 2000 (The Palm Beach Post)—How do you lure a trapped and crying 6-week-old kitten from a 16- inch drainage pipe?
With another one, of course.
Cat-lovers flagged down officer Ed Lewis in the parking lot of a Denny's Restaurant on U.S. 1 shortly after midnight Tuesday. Lewis could hear the kitten crying as he and Sgt. Rick Schichtel removed the drainage grate, Schichtel said.
Schichtel put on his rubber boots and stepped into the sewer - almost knee-deep in water - where he could see the orange kitten about 100 feet into the pipe, according to the report.
Schichtel tried to get the kitten's attention, but the light from his flashlight scared her farther into the pipe.
Lewis went to the Denny's to buy a hamburger for bait, but that didn't work either. Barking like dogs at the far end of the pipe failed, too, Schichtel said.
That's when the officers turned to the orange and white kitten they found in the grass nearby. They caught her, tied her with a long string - dropped off by another officer - and released her into the pipe, Schichtel said.
As Schichtel reeled the orange and white kitten back out, her sister followed.
The kittens were taken to the St. Lucie County Humane Society and will be put up for adoption if healthy. Anyone interested can call 461-0687.
© 2000 The Palm Beach Post via Bell&Howell Information and Learning Company; All Rights Reserved.
