Team rescues kitten from palace wall

  • Published
  • By Master Sgt. Karen Petitt
  • Multinational Corps-Iraq Public Affairs
BAGHDAD, Iraq (AFPN) --  In the sprawling Al Faw Palace at Camp Victory where leaders are tough and business is serious, a group of concerned officers led a team in a kitten rescue July 8.

The public affairs staff had heard a family of kittens meowing in the ceiling for a couple of days, but said they were surprised to hear a faint meow in one of the pillars outside on the second floor balcony.

“When I heard the kitten, I couldn’t stand the thought of it just baking inside the pillar, so I called the palace management team who came right up,” said Maj. Denise Varner, a media operations officer here.

Pest control officers Krijan Nikica and Vinko Gavranic climbed up a side ladder into the dark ceiling space over the balcony and saw the kitten inside the pillar below. The 13-foot ceilings were too high for them to reach down to where it was trapped, and the mother cat had taken a defensive position.

Osama Mahmoud Mohammad then retrieved a hammer and chisel, and the team began to loosen the concrete blocks surrounding the base of the pillar. Meanwhile, Col. Jill Morgenthaler, a public affairs officer here, prepared a bowl of milk for the kitten.

“The temperature … climbed to 118 degrees, and the meowing had subsided since we first discovered the kitten,” she said. “I’m sure (it was) dehydrated.”

Once a hole was made in the base, Colonel Morgenthaler reached in and rescued the kitten. Soon it was relaxing in its new home made out of a television box. She also tried to lure the mother cat down from the ceiling with a tuna sandwich.

“We’ve gotten rid of mice and other critters,” Mr. Nikica said. “So this is nice to rescue the kitten. Everyone’s happy.”

Major Varner named the kitten Liberty, or Libby for short. She said they plan to gather the family and release them elsewhere on base.