Our adventure-seeking kitten, who was stuck 45 metres underground in an electricity pipe for about a day, was finally reunited with her owners at The Mayhew. 6 month-old Sass (nicknamed Billie by The Mayhew) was brought to us on October 14^th after being found by maintenance men working on the electricity pipe by the Old Sorting Office in NW8.

Sass’ owner, Patrick Costelloe, came to The Mayhew to claim his lost kitten after searching for her online.

Delighted to be re-united with his pet, he said, “I’m just so happy to see her. She disappeared for about ten days and I was so worried. The pipe is just across from us so she must have wandered off and got in there somehow. I can’t believe how far down she went and that there would be so much interest in her. I searched for her on lots of cat websites until I tracked her down and came to get her at The Mayhew. The first thing I am going to do is get her back to her mum Suzuki.”

Sass lives in the Camden area in London with Patrick and her mum Suzuki, meaning that this adventurous little kitten walked for about 2 miles down the electricity pipe before she was discovered.

Our Animal Welfare Officers suspect little Sass was stuck down the electric pipe for about a day until she was found. She had a lucky escape from her adventure, as thankfully the electric was not live during the maintenance.

Animal Welfare Officer, Tania Mazzoni, said, “She had a very lucky escape because if the electricity had been live she would not be here today.”

Since coming into us at The Mayhew our staff and volunteers have been keeping Sass comfortable, whilst working hard to find the owners of the lost kitten who was not microchipped.

Tania added, “This story also demonstrates the importance of microchipping. We could have reunited her straight away with her owner if she had been chipped.”

After speaking to Patrick, we microchipped Sass at our Vet Clinic, to ensure that if she went missing in the future, he could be reunited with his pet much quicker.

Patrick said, “It’s great she’s been microchipped and we can easily find her if she does it again. I’m so grateful to The Mayhew and have made a donation to say thanks.”

Thousands of cats and dogs are lost each year in the UK and many are never reunited with their owners as they have no permanent identification. The Mayhew offers a low-cost Microchipping service at our clinic. Please call 020 8962 8017 or email our vet clinic to make an appointment.

One reason why a cat may roam unexpectedly, with the possibility of getting into difficulties, is that if a male or female cat hasn’t been neutered, it is more likely to roam away from home in order to find a mate, where it is more at risk of becoming lost or stolen.

The Mayhew also encourages and practices neutering to prevent early and unwanted pregnancies in cats and dogs, to help reduce the massive overpopulation of unwanted animals. We neuter out-patients from 12 weeks old and offer low cost or even free neutering in specific cases – please contact our vet clinic for more information about neutering your pet.

If you or anyone you know has lost a cat or dog and suspect they may have been brought into us, then please contact us.

You can read more about little Sass’ adventure here.