Carlos the Cat, from Kleinmond, experienced a weekend from hell in icy-cold weather last week. But with the help of a large part of the Kleinmond community he was rescued and back safely in his owner’s arms after being stuck on a high pole for three days.
His ordeal started on Friday 19 July, when he somehow ended up on top of an 11-metre Eskom power support beam high above the Mountain view area in Kleinmond.
A concerned resident reported the situation to Grant Cohen, Speaker of the Overstrand Council and councillor of Ward 9.
He, in turn, contacted Overstrand Executive Mayor Dr Annelie Rabie, who instructed him to “contact everybody” to assist with rescuing the feline.
Contacting ‘everybody’
First in line was Overstrand Fire and Rescue Services Chief Lester Smith who dispatched a fire truck and rescue team to the scene.
The Mayor reported that by Friday at 17:30 it had become clear that the perch Carlos found himself on was in fact the support to a 66 Volt live wire. “The instruction was ‘Don’t Touch’,” she said. By Saturday morning, after another extremely cold night, he was still stuck.
With the support of Rabie, Cohen then reached out to Riaan Buckle of the Electricity Department in Kleinmond who, despite having plans with his wife, drove along a two-track dirt road with Cohen to assess the situation and try to figure out a possible solution to Carlos’ plight.
The local fire station as well as the OM store were contacted to enquire whether they could assist with a ladder or cherry picker to reach Carlos on his high perch. To no avail.
Mayor offers help
Buckle went home to start brainstorming rescue ideas. The Mayor even offered to pay for the district vet to drive out and dart the cat. The vet, however, informed them this plan was off the table as Carlos was too small to be darted and that this might be fatal.
Then came a breakthrough when Cohen asked councillor Theresa Els, who was busy dealing with Eskom regarding power issues in Pringle Bay, to request the Eskom technicians to switch off the live power line for the firefighters to climb up the pole to rescue the cat.
Alas, Eskom didn’t show on Saturday and Carlos was left on his perch again for the night, with no relief in sight.
said Rabie. “Carlos was exhausted, and Eskom just did not have a team available to drive through to assist.”
By Monday morning, Buckle contacted Cohen with the bright idea of using a drone in the rescue operation.
They attached a basket with cat food and water to the drone and used it to try and lure Carlos into the basket.
“But the poor cat was so traumatised by his three nights on a pole that he tried to dart in the opposite direction” the Mayor related.
“So they needed another drone to try and chase him in the direction of the dangling basket!”
Schalk Boonzaaier Jr, a member of the NSRI Kleinmond, immediately agreed to the use of his drone. But the battery needed charging, so Carlos just had to hang tight for a while longer.
Meanwhile, the overpowering lure of tuna was just too much for Carlos, who decided that his stomach was more important than his angst, and jumped into the dangling basket for a safe rescue.
And so, after three days and three nights, which surely cost three of his lives, he was lowered to the ground and the welcoming arms of his owner.
