Edmonton firefighters stage technical rescue for 2 cats trapped in trench

Let's hope cats really have nine lives.

Firefighters with Edmonton's technical rescue team were called Friday morning to rescue a pair of cats who had stumbled down a sinkhole.

Crews were called around 9 a.m. to a home near 69th Street and 87th Avenue in the southeast Edmonton neighbourhood of Kenilworth.

Homeowner Rebecca Hung says she was having her morning coffee when she found the hole. She called the police and within minutes help arrived.

"There was a lot of people here," Hung said. "We had the yard taped off. There was about five fire trucks. The first fire team had to leave because it was too dangerous for them to go down into the hole."

The cats are trapped in a deep trench under the foundation of a house, said Edmonton Fire Rescue Services spokesperson Kristie Bland.

As of noon, the critters were still down the hole. Firefighters did some trenching work to try to get the animals safely out, Bland said.

When those efforts were unsuccessful, the situation became a waiting game.

Firefighters left the scene around 12:30 p.m. They left the trench rigged up with a carpet-covered ladder and hoped the cats would use the makeshift escape route to crawl out on their own.

"It was a really quick response," Hung said. "I'm glad they [came to help]. we were really unsure what to do both with the hole and with the cat. They're both two tricky situations."

Hung says the cats seemed frightened but that the fire crews had left some food behind for them. She hopes, now that the scene had calmed down, that the cats will come out on their own.

This is far from the first time Edmonton fire crews have been called to help a feline in distress. Cat rescues are a fairly regular occurrence in the city.

"We're here to help out," Bland said.