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Sammie the cat, 14, is rescued from a drain on this April Fool's Day in DeLand, Florida by city firefighters.
Sammy was given some oxygen and then coaxed into coming out out by some refreshing water on a seasonably hot Florida morning.
Below, a firefighter tries to reach Sammie via a manhole cover.
DELAND, Fla. -- They say cats have nine lives. At 14, Sammie the Cat may have squeezed out his final lifeline with a little help from his new-found friends: DeLand firefighters who rescued the furry creature from a drain on this April Fools Friday morning.
No fooling, though. The cat's out of the beg, err, drain.
Sammie was located by its owner in a street drain on Main Street after hearing the feline's unmistakeable cries for help, DeLand municipal spokesman Chris Graham said. The owner came home at 11 a.m. came and "could hear Sammie meowing," Graham said. Sammie was reluctant to come out at first, but firefighters coaxed the furry feline with some cold, refreshing water.
Sammie the cat was located by its owner in a street drain on Main Street after after hearing the feline's unmistakeable cries for help, DeLand municipal spokesman Chris Graham said. The owner came home at 11 a.m. came and "could hear Sammie meowing," said Graham shown here. Sammie was reluctant to come out at first, but firefighters coaxed the furry feline with some cold, refreshing water.
A DeLand firefighter reaches down through a manhole cover opening to feel fore Sammie the cat who was rescue from the storm drain nearby moments later.
"It all ended well," Graham said, using a variation of the time-worn cliche, "All's well that end's well."
No matter how the government public relations is spun, in this case, curiosity did not kill Sammie the cat, thanks to some brave DeLand firefighters on an April Fool's morning. For real.
Did You Know?
Source of cat has nine lives
• When the Sunday Herald in New Britain, Conn., published an article on why a cat always lands on its feet in their October 2, 1960 edition of the newspaper. The article was brief but detailed, and stated clearly that cats who were blindfolded fell in a heap and sustained injuries. Interestingly enough, cats that were born without the normal balancing organs present in the ears still managed to land safely on all four feet, and so it would seem that sight is the primary sense needed for a cat to land safely on its feet from any height. The article was aptly entitled, “A Cat Always Lands On Its Feet.“
• Historically speaking, Baldwin III, Count of Ypres, is said to have thrown cats from a tower in 962. The town (located in Belgium) marked the event with a cat festival, and up until 1817, it was recorded that cats were thrown from a 70-meter tower to mark the event. However, starting in 1818, toy cats were thrown from the tower instead.
• But where did the myth originate that so many people repeat as an idiom these days? To find the answer to that, we have to go to the Middle East. There you will find an ancient folk legend, according to Encyclopedia Iranica, that explains that once upon a time, the first Imam, Alī, blessed the cat’s back by caressing it. Because of this folk legend, the expression gorba-ye Mortażā-Alī or “Alī’s cat” began to be used to refer to people in difficulty who always found a way out of their troubles, thereby “landing on their feet.” The legend appears to go trace back to the 7th century.
-- Source: Idiomation
