***AMBERS LUCKY ESCAPE*** My 3 year old cat Amber, went missing on Sunday 2nd November. I had let Amber out in the garden at 11.30am. It was a lovely sunny bright morning and she had been in all week. I was happy she was safe as she never ventured out to the front of the house. I was surprised though that after some time, there was no sign of her. I was not too concerned initially, however , when the hours passed and there was still no sign, I began to get a bad feeling. She would normally check back regularly to see if she was missing out on anything at home. I decided to walk around the neighbouring roads just in case. When there was no sign I extended my search and drove around the neighbouring roads. I had an appointment later that evening so I left the house with a heavy heart. When I got home later that night, I was devastated to find there was still no sign of her and at that stage I accepted that there was something very very wrong. The following day I informed my immediate neighbours and asked them to keep an eye out for her. I rang the local vets to inform them and I emailed Cats Aid and the DSPCA. I printed some “missing” posters and asked the local shops to display them. I then delivered the missing posters to all the houses on the block and the houses at the back of this block of houses There was no response to my posters. My search continued on Tuesday, I berated myself for not having her chipped and cried bitter tears. There were so many ifs and whats. I walked the roads again. Still no response to my posters, I saw my Amber on the Missing page of Cats Aid. I cried lots more tears. I continued the search the following day and once again I walked the neighbouring roads. Amber’s pal Truffle my other 16 year old cat missed her too and wouldn’t let me out of his sight. Wednesday came and I began to try and accept that Amber was gone. My friend’s husband then contacted me to say that he had been talking to a vet and was telling her the story. She advised him that it was best to personally call to the doors that while people will look at a flyer, they may not give it too much thought. He offered to call around to the houses with me. I felt so despondent at this stage that it took me a while to agree to his kind offer. We knocked into the houses and everyone said no they had seen the flyer but hadn’t seen the cat. Eventually, we called to the last house in the road. The woman who answered said no, she hadn’t seen the flyer. She looked at the flyer and said no she hadn’t seen the cat either. She was about to close the door when she mentioned an ESB Sub Station which was located right next door to her. She said that some years back a cat got in there and couldn’t get out. She suggested it might be worth trying. The substation was protected by 3 sets of gates. We got as close to the substation as was possible. I thought I heard a noise and I started calling Amber. With that there were loud cat cries back, it was my Amber – I couldn’t believe it. I could not see her nor get near to where she was but it was definitely Amber crying and it was a strong cry. I was so relieved. We immediately rang the ESB and they agreed to send somebody out to open the gates. It took approximately an hour for the ESB to get there and Amber was rescued, cold and hungry but otherwise healthy. I think what happened was that Amber walked along the high garden walls till she got to the substation. She then jumped from the high garden wall to the higher substation wall and then for whatever reason she jumped down into it. It was such a high jump down and just sheer wall and it was impossible for her to get out. It was effectively a pit. I was so so lucky to get her, if that woman hadn’t put us on the right track, Amber was a goner. I am writing this account partly to share a happy story but also to thank Cats Aid and all those who helped in Amber’s safe return to me. I also think it serves as a salutary warning to other pet owners whose animals could find themselves in such a precarious position. I have told this story to so many people to alert them of the dangers and would like to make as many people as possible aware of the hidden dangers in our communities.
Posted on: Sun, 07 Dec 2014 13:17:00 +0000
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