Kitten, Stuck in Mission Viejo Storm Drain for 5 Days, Lured Out with Tuna

From the city of Mission Viejo:

After eluding Mission Viejo Animal Services officers for five days, a little gray tabby kitten caught in a Mission Viejo storm drain is finally free. An animal services officer lured the kitten out of the storm drain with some tuna.

The Mission Viejo Animal Services Center began receiving calls about a trapped kitten last Wednesday and immediately began efforts to catch him. But those initial attempts to capture the kitty were unsuccessful. Firefighters even lowered a camera into the storm drain trying to locate the kitten, which had seemingly disappeared.

Another call came in today from someone reporting to hear the kitten but the caller could not see him. Mission Viejo Animal Services Officer J.R. Stewart, who was in the area on another call, was able to lure the kitten into his sight using some tuna. After he determined that it was safe, Stewart set a humane trap and waited. He checked the trap this afternoon and found the kitten had taken the bait.

The kitty was immediately transferred to the Animal Medical Center in Mission Viejo with hypothermia of his paws, slight anemia and he was covered in fleas. The doctor and staff at the center gave the kitten a warm bath, treated him for the fleas and said he will be back to normal after some food and TLC.

Since he is so tiny, the kitty will be in foster care for a few weeks before being vaccinated, neutered, micro-chipped and made available for adoption.

Stewart named him “Acero,” in honor of the street where he was found and the fact that Acero means “steel” in Spanish, which makes this little kitten so tough.

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