Crews Pull Out All the Stops to Save Adorable Black Kitty

“Piper” the cat was pulled to safety thanks to a multi-agency effort this weekend. Images courtesy: Riverside County Department of Animal Services.

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A black cat who had a spat of bad luck this weekend is resting comfortably Monday thanks to an all-hands-on-deck rescue.

The cat somehow found himself deep in an irrigation pipe in Indio on Saturday, and was only freed once irrigation workers dug up the pipe and an animal services worker reached in to pluck the critter out, officials said.

According to John Welsh of the Riverside County Department of Animal Services, the cat was first spotted on Friday by a woman walking her dog on Jackson Street in Indio.

“The passerby reported the meows sometime on Friday,” Welsh said. “Riverside County Animal Services responded, but it appeared the cat was deep inside a pipe and unreachable by the officer. The officer made several attempts to save the cat on Friday, but realized he needed to contact the irrigation district for better access.”

On Saturday, workers from the Imperial Irrigation District were called in to assist. By hand and with heavy equipment, they dug up enough pipe to allow Animal Services Officer Gerald Duchene to reach the cat.

The cat was retrieved late Saturday afternoon, Welsh said.

Welsh called the Imperial Irrigration District workers, Sal Pulido, John Ryan, Irene Ramos, Pedro Reyes, Jason Jones and Jesse Nava, “the true heroes.”

The IID workers christened the cat “Piper.”

Piper is now at the Coachella Valley Animal Campus in Thousand Palms.

“How the cat got itself in the predicament is uncertain,” Welsh said. “It is believed the cat managed to access a pipe -- but dropped down deeper into a collection vault area where it was unable to get out on its own.”

If an owner does not come to claim Piper, the cat will be put up for adoption, Welsh said.

— City News Service contributed to this report.