‘Wall-y’ the kitten rescued from vent in NN

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. (WAVY) — It didn’t go purr-fectly for either the kitten or its rescuers, but ultimately, Newport News first responders didn’t vent, and went deep into their playbook to save the feline.

Nicknamed “Wall-y,” the kitten remained steadfast despite the city’s police, fire department and animal welfare division going deep into their playbooks to pull off the rescue.

Around 10 p.m. Sunday, the city’s Animal Welfare Division got a report of a kitten trapped within a structure of a second-floor wall. NNPD was already at the scene, and they could hear the kitten’s cries from behind the upstairs wall.

The kitten did not yield in a tug-of-war with the vent, ending this skirmish in a stalemate and the vent the victor.

That’s when the Newport News Fire Department’s Station 2 came in, including bringing in a firefighter known as “Taters’ hero” off the bench. They pulled out all the stops, including using tools they usually use in more substantial rescues, and they were able to remove the vent, however, the kitten did not yield.

They tried to lure the kitten out with a towel soaked in cat food, along with a laser pointer, but those things didn’t work.

According to a release, “the kitten appeared to have a discerning palate and a disdain for cheap tricks.”

However, they called an audible and used a digital serenade of YouTube’s best kitten meows to get the kitten out, and almost two hours later, at 11:51 p.m., the standoff ended peacefully and the kitten was apprehended without further incident and taken into custody, with Wall-y being held without bond at the Peninsula Regional Animal Shelter.

There were no injuries to first responders, or the kitten, and though the air vent sustained “life-threatening injuries,” it is expected, according to the release, to make a full recovery.

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