KCOY Santa Maria, Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo - News-Central Coast Cat Caught in Chimney

Central Coast Cat Caught in Chimney

09.03.09

SHELL BEACH - A cat from the Central Coast is likely thanking his lucky stars.

The feline, named Jasper, got stuck between a rock and a hard place and firefighters were faced with an unusual rescue.

If you listened closely, you would hear an anxious "meow" coming from the depths of a chimney in Shell Beach.

"My wife heard the meow in the chimney actually and we couldn't believe that a cat had fallen down our chimney," said Jay Chapel, a Shell Beach resident.

Jasper the cat managed to get trapped, eight feet down a pipe at a neighbor's house.

The neighbor, Jay Chapel, tried to coax the cat free with some food, but it did not do the trick. Chapel called for back-up and a Cal Fire crew came to Jasper's rescue.

"It's kind of the old joke about that's all we do as a fire department, go rescue cats out of trees and it doesn't really happen all that often," said Capt. Jason Potts. "Normally the animals find their way out and in this case, it was just too small of a spot for the cat to get out of."

Neighbors watched nervously as firefighters used an animal snare to free the feline from the tight spot. They say Jasper had been missing for two days.

As soon as Jasper's paws toughed the ground Thursday morning, he was off and running, bringing relief to a concerned community.

"I was glad, I felt relieved and so did everybody else to see that Jasper was okay," said Tim Page, a Shell Beach resident.

Firefighters checked Jasper out for broken bones and wounds. Although he was a little startled, he is expected to be okay.