Arizona Rescuers Save Kitten Stuck in Rising Waters Inside 20-Foot Storm Drain

A 10-week-old cat is in recovery after rescuers found him treading climbing waters in a 20-foot storm drain in Arizona.

The Arizona Humane Society's Emergency Animal Medical Technicians™ (EAMTs) and the Chandler Fire Department found and rescued the little feline and named him Augustus Gloop, the Arizona Humane Society (AHS) said in a press release shared with PEOPLE.

The shelter said that the kitten was first spotted in an empty storm drain in Chandler, Arizona, but by the time AHS' EAMTs Julie Bolchalk and Ruthie Jesus arrived, Augustus Gloop was pawing his way through rising irrigation water in the drain.

"Having to act quickly, they followed his cries to locate him but found he was in a part of the drain that they were unable to open with the tools they had," the AHS said.

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Shortly after, the fire department arrived at the scene with a "special hydraulic tool to get the drain bolts open" and helped the EAMTs successfully save Augustus Gloop.

The EAMTs provided the kitten with veterinary care. Augustus Gloop was exhausted and suffering from hypothermia when rescuers pulled him from the drain, but these health issues didn't take away the feline's appetite. He "readily ate wet food" before being taken to the AHS' Second Chance Animal Trauma Hospital, the rescue said. During his treatment at the hospital, vets discovered that the kitten had "torn and bleeding nails but otherwise was healthy."

Augustus Gloop is currently receiving treatment at an AHS Foster Hero home that often collaborates with the EAMTs that helped rescue him.

In 2021, the AHS' EAMTs saved more than 6,000 animals who had suffered abuse, abandonment, and injuries, according to the AHS.