A community in Duluth, Minnesota, gathered together to rescue a lost cat from a sewer on September 10, after it had been missing since July.
Dahlia Marie Boberg recorded this video showing her neighbor, Clifton Nesseth, and other members of their community working together to rescue Nesseth’s cat, named Drifter.
In a Facebook post after the rescue, Nesseth chronicled Drifter’s disappearance, the hopes for his return, and his seemingly miraculous rescue.
Nesseth said Drifter disappeared on July 18, the day a road crew sealed sewers and laid large rocks in a previously open construction area in the neighborhood. Over the next two months their family hung up missing posters, regularly called out for Drifter, and at one point even temporarily adopted a lookalike cat Nesseth said his emotions made him believe could be their missing pet.
Nesseth wrote that on the evening of September 10, they got word that neighborhood kids had heard meowing from the sewer. With the help of a shovel, some scissors, and the encouragement of neighbors, Nesseth was able to open up a hole big enough for a cat to squeeze through and was delighted to find that it was indeed Drifter.
Nesseth said Drifter had been a “strong and formidable” 15 pounds when he went missing and was weighed at 6.5 pounds at the emergency vet after his rescue, but was “otherwise completely himself” and recovering under veterinary instructions.
“The vet said that cats need to eat every three days before they begin to shut down, so I cannot imagine what he scavenged to survive over the last months. How many terrible ends came to the rats and mice that chanced upon his hungry and unstoppable nature? How deep did he have to dig (inwards) in order to survive and finally emerge to his natural state of being a surface dweller again, to the celebration and joy of his family and neighborhood, which had all gathered around to witness his rebirth from the ground,” Nesseth wrote. Credit: Dahlia Marie Boberg via Storyful
Video transcript
And there’s a cat.
Oh my God.
So far a little back what we want to do after we get it out, you a cat and we’ll have to call him sewer.
Somebody’s sorry.
It’s under that.
It’s under that thing.
See that like fabric thing that, yeah, can we get that?
They put fabric down?
I get it.
Maybe if they just, none of this can happen.
Ok. Let’s see if we can do.
Oh wait, I um, I’ve been with trouble here.
That was the sort of thing.
Do you want to do also?
Oh yes.
It’s, now it’s like under, we need someone to like lift that up and do.
Yeah.
If he can dig out, you just, just get rid of this.
This is so dumb.
You can you, when I lift this up, can you just set this rock endways holds up?
It’s moving.
Ok. Ready.
Ok.
Right underneath where my hands are.
Ok.
Between them a little further in cause here’s what I’m trying, I’m trying good.
Ok. Can you see him any better?
No, he’s still under.
But is there some stuff we can dig out now?
I would probably want to use your hands.
Almost scared.
We put some food.
Yeah, that’s what I was thinking.
Yeah, I think there’s like dirt.
I can stay here.
You down there and kind of dig the dirt out.
What are you trying to do?
Just create a hole for it.
It’s like under that fabric.
Oh, I see that.
I get that off.
Maybe try to rip it open.
I was, but I don’t want it to let her be.
Mash it down.
Can I be a little feisty?
You can this happened a while ago?
Maybe this is how long drifters been gone?
Ok. Oh my gosh.
Is it poor little thing?
I don’t know what it is.
Is it tabby front claws?
It could be.
That could be.
Oh my.
Yeah.
What?
Wait, just wait.
It’s some random.
Oh my God.
B down.
Give me a scissor.
Give me, give me, give me, why is he in the road?
Give me a, give me a scissor.
Now.
Go get a scissor.
Why is he in the road?
Oh my God.
It’s so loud.
He doesn’t have the nose freckle, does he?
Does he have the?
No, it looks like Drifter.
It’s the long face.
Let’s wait and see.
I don’t know.
Yeah.
Uh uh, who is this?
Sorry, I will call you back.
Drifters in the road.
Ok.
Sorry.
All right.
Thank you.
Bye.
Drifters in the road.
Drifters in the road.
We think there’s a cat in the road tr under that check for, there was a cat trapped under that.
There’s a cat in the road.
We’re trying to let it out.
Come on.
Yes, you should be able to get through this now.
It looks like him drifted.
Can I get, he’s been under there the whole time.
He’s really skinny.
He’s really skinny.
He’s so we have to take him right to the vet.
Ok. Come on.
Come on.
I’m so mad that he was a, can I get a picture of six weeks that you were a little guy?
Oh my gosh.
Look how big his collar is on.
How do we not hear him until now?
I thought that was like, oh my God, I cannot believe it.
He’s like the cat.
He was ok. We just found our weeks.
