Cat rescued after 3 winter days in Ohio drainpipe

Randy Roberts / Associated Press

Piper gets a checkup at the Findlay Animal Hospital on Friday, Jan 10, 2014, in Findlay, Ohio. Piper spent at least three winter days in a northwest Ohio drainpipe before groundskeepers at a school cut through the pipe Friday to free the orange cat, which was muddy, emaciated and hypothermic.

Associated Press

Saturday, Jan. 11, 2014 | 10:26 a.m.

FINDLAY, Ohio — A cat that spent at least three winter days in a northwest Ohio drainpipe has been rescued after initially refusing attempts to lure it out with tuna, the classic call of "here, kitty, kitty" and even a cellphone app that meowed.

The Courier newspaper reports a resident in Findlay heard the cat's cries Wednesday. Groundskeepers at a school cut through the pipe Friday to free the orange cat, which was muddy, emaciated and hypothermic.

The male cat has been named Piper. It has a broken leg and other injuries signaling it's had a rough time lately. But things are looking up, with a number of people volunteering to adopt if it goes unclaimed.

One veterinarian assessed the cat this way: "If they truly have nine lives, he probably has three left."