ST. GEORGE, Utah (ABC4) — Multiple agencies in St. George answered the call to help with a rescue mission last week where a cat was found trapped in an underground pipe.
In a video posted on Facebook, the St. George Animal Shelter told the story of how “Rooter” the cat, named after the plumbing service that saved her, was rescued from a six-inch storm drain near Panther Way on Thursday, March 30.
Employees at the Marine United of St. George called Animal Services on Thursday to report that they could hear a cat in a storm drain near the back of their property.
Upon arrival, Animal Services determined that the cat appeared to have wandered very far down a pipe with an exposed end, and there was no apparent way to get her out of it.
Animal Services then decided to enlist the help of the St. George Wastewater Treatment Division, whose mighty employees were able to locate the cat about 362 feet from the opening of the pipe using a video camera.
The camera sent down the pipe captured Rooter burrowing deeper into the six-inch wide pipe with no space to turn around or back up. At one point, Rooter reached the end of the six-inch pipe and stopped going forward as the pipe was connected to an even smaller drain that is about four inches wide.
Rooter being carried out of the pipe she was trapped in. Courtesy of St. George Animal Shelter 
Rooter with Officer Allred from the St. George Animal Services. Courtesy of St. George Animal Shelter 
A camera captured Rooter in the small pipe. Courtesy of St. George Animal Shelter 
The spot where the asphalt had been removed to save Rooter. Courtesy of St. George Animal Shelter
This was when the plumbing and drain company, Roto Rooter, was called in to help with the rescue mission. A Roto Rooter employee marked the ground where the pipe would be located underneath the ground and asked an excavation company to remove an area of the asphalt, exposing the pipe.
An employee from Moss Excavating then cut a hole in the pipe and successfully got Rooter out of the confined space.
“She remained very calm and seemed to know she was being rescued,” the animal shelter stated.
After having her first meal in a while, Rooter was transported to the Lava Rock Veterinary Hospital, where she was given a clean bill of health.
In the Facebook post, the St. George Animal Shelter also thanked Roto Rooter for sponsoring the adoption fees for Rooter and four other cats.
The green-eyed cat will reportedly be going to her new home on Thursday, April 6.
