VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — Almost a week after concerned residents reached out to News 3 about a kitten hiding in a drain in Town Center, Keagan Nando, named after restaurants near his temporary hide-out, has been rescued.
Billy the Kidden Rescue was able to save Keagan Nando after countless hours and around-the-clock teamwork, according to Trap Director Joyce Rutti.
Rutti said when their rescue got the call on Nov. 2 about the kitten, their trap team immediately went out to the area to assess the situation.
"We knew this was not going to be a normal rescue considering the size of the drains," Rutti told News 3. "Not a size for any human to be able to crawl through. Could not even fit a regular trap down there so we had to get creative."
Rutti said they were working with a six-inch wide pipe drain and had to maneuver a trap down vertically. But that also came with its own problems.
They had to find a way to make sure the trap didn't get tripped and maneuver it around a bend in the pipe while keeping the food from falling out.
Their solution? Ziptying fillets of sardines to the back of the trap.
"It's like playing the game doctor," Rutti said.
Saturday night, shortly after the trap team had arrived back at the site, Rutti said Keagan Nando was "meowing away" at his feeding station that she had established days before.
"We wanted to try to keep him in one area," Rutti said. "We knew a trap was probably not going to work. Another volunteer had a catch pole ready."
As Keagan Nando was snacking, Rutti and her team went in for the save.
"I was able to put some shrimp scampi down there with grabbers, right along the side of the pipe so he would have to come out completely in order to eat it. As soon as he came out, the other rescue member was able to catch him with the pole, then I immediately reached down there and grabbed him for extra security," Rutti said. "There was no way we were letting him go."
This was the first time the orange kitten had come out far enough for anyone to be able to grab him, and Rutti said she thinks he was ready.
Keagan Nando is approximately six to seven weeks old, and was dewormed last night.
Rutti is personally fostering him until he is ready for adoption.
