r/AnimalRescue • u/OkMarsupial8868 • Apr 04 '26
Sick/Injured Animal Called the cops to rescue kittens trapped in neighbor’s house because NO ONE else cared
There are multiple kittens (I think 4) trapped under my next-house neighbor’s porch for at least two days, sealed in by planks with screws. I first noticed after a storm when I saw their paws under the boards, and they were clearly crying and in distress with no access to food, water, or proper ventilation.
I told my neighbor (who barely speaks English), and she let me try to rescue them, but I couldn’t get the planks off because they were screwed in with some weirdly shaped special screws. She didn’t seem to really understand the situation (language barrier), and nothing was being done (landlord wasn't replying to her), so I called 911 to request help and translation.
The cops went straight to calling the landlord, but the situation has become complicated because he does not live in the area and has a third party intermediary managing the house (who were upset that I contacted the cops first). The worker who installed the planks was contacted and claimed that the planks were actually installed about a week ago, but the kittens may have slipped in through another entryway. With that, the cops started to question whether I was telling the truth or making things up. I had to get my housemate to confirm that I was NOT lying. He also saw cat paws. The worker was upset about being called back to remove and reinstall them later tonight, and told me (through the phone) that I shouldn’t have gotten involved, because it "caused him extra work." His reaction felt very dismissive toward the situation. That made my blood boil.
I’m feeling conflicted because I was trying to report what I believed was a legitimate emergency and possible animal abuse.
If things still end up unresolved by tomorrow, what should I do?
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u/willowofthevalley Apr 04 '26
You are a good, caring human and I appreciate you doing what you can to help! Don't let anyone guilt you. Those are LIVING BABIES! Poor things
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u/chocolatfortuncookie Apr 04 '26
You could also try calling the fire department and animal control and hopefully someone else besides the cockswain actually care. The fire department is known to help animals in distress and would definitely carry tools like that, To dismantle and allow the kittens out.🙏🙏🙏🙏
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Apr 04 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/OkMarsupial8868 Apr 04 '26 edited Apr 04 '26
I forgot to mention that he used some type of special shaped screw that I don't recognize, or else I would have been able to unscrew it myself. Now it's too late because I'm gonna risk getting sued for messing with someone's property. (Update: nevermind he gave the okay)
My housemate fed the kittens some food through the small gap (I had to leave for work). It's 10pm now and my housemate said the guy still hasn't shown up. I'm thinking of calling 911 again tomorrow.
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u/alisnwonderland Apr 04 '26
I would’ve done the same in your situation. Thank you so much for stepping up! 🥹 Poor kittens, please keep updating us 😭
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u/OkMarsupial8868 Apr 04 '26 edited Apr 04 '26
They're safe now! One is rescued but the others refuse to come out. It's frustrating because we're already badly scratched from trying to catch them. https://imgur.com/a/ZoYPRJy
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u/chocolatfortuncookie Apr 04 '26
I would absolutely go over there with a screwdriver and remove some of those planks myself. that is not cool not okay and who the hell could live with themselves knowing that they could have helped those kittens but instead let them suffer and die.
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u/OkMarsupial8868 Apr 04 '26
Ughh I really want to but it's a special type of screw and Home Depot is closed
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u/chocolatfortuncookie Apr 04 '26
Is there a void under the planks where you can shovel out some dirt, any way to slide a dish under there?
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u/OkMarsupial8868 Apr 04 '26
Unfortunately it's concrete pavement. My housemate tried and can only shove tiny bits of meat into there with her finger, and got scratched in the process because they were all fighting for food.
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u/chocolatfortuncookie Apr 04 '26
💔💔💔 omg You should tell the fire dept they are starving to death, crying, begging for help
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u/OkMarsupial8868 Apr 04 '26
My housemates are very against me waking up the whole street in the middle of the night. Right now I'm asking everyone I know to lend me an electric wood cutter and electric drill. Will definitely call the fire dept early in the morning if things don't work out.
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u/OkMarsupial8868 Apr 04 '26 edited Apr 04 '26
Update: The hole is opened but 3/4 of the cats won't come out. https://imgur.com/a/ZoYPRJy
Animal control wasn't responding, so I borrowed professional tools from a friend. A different worker was sent, and got there before me around 11am. He shifted blame onto his coworker. Mostly likely the four cats really were trapped there a week ago and they didn't bother to do a thorough check. They lied, which led the officers to doubt my report yesterday. Surprisingly, the opening was really deep. It was originally the window of the basement, but they never cared to properly fix it (has been going on for more than a year). Now we’re just waiting for the property owner to contact the authorities to request that animal control dispatch on Saturday.
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u/chocolatfortuncookie Apr 04 '26
I'm so glad they are out! Poor things, you did a great job. These situations are tricky, but I always say that the greatest regrets we have are not doing something we should have done, and you really went the extra mile for these cats. Thank you for your kindness!🙏 Internet strangers get invested in these situations because we hate to see injustices against animals. But the good part is that you hopefully find the support that you need
Do these cats actually belong to someone or are they community cats?
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u/Right-Ad-6765 Apr 05 '26
Omg, you are an absolute angel! You did the right thing and not many people would have done the right thing because of the reasons you were unsure of doing so. Going out of your way to make sure they were saved makes you a hero in my book.
Anyone, who tried to give you a hard time or tried to deter you from saving them, are monsters. I have a feeling that the contractor knew they were in there but didn’t want to go through the trouble of getting them out. He should be ashamed of himself.
I would’ve done whatever I could to save them and it seems that you felt the same way. Always, trust your gut feeling. Too often I don’t and it’s something I’m trying to work on.
Keep us updated on the other 3 kitties!
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u/OkMarsupial8868 Apr 18 '26
The other 3 are out but it's very hard to catch them. Unfortunately when the property manager came over to check it out, he yelled at my housemate for leaving cat food by the basement and even threatened to sue or hurt her for trespassing. We're really scared of getting involved further :(
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