The Amazing Story of Missy the Cat’s Rescue from Napier Floodwaters

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Extreme weather can play havoc with people’s lives and can even cause life-endangering situations. Floods are just one example of how nature can put people’s lives at risk. However, it is not only humans that are potentially at risk from floods, as they also pose risks for animals. Fortunately, many animal-lovers are willing to step up when an animal is in danger and do what they can to make sure the animal makes it to safety. Here is what happened to a cat called Missy when she was trapped due to the floods in Napier.

The Floods in Napier

According to The Guardian, Napier, a city in New Zealand, experienced the worst rain for 57 years. Not only was it the worst day of rain since 1963, but it was also the second wettest day ever on record. The rain caused serious flooding across the city, resulting in a loss of power in many areas and some people being forced to leave their homes. A big rescue operation was launched to rescue people from their properties, and there were fears that the floodwaters were contaminated with wastewater, posing a huge risk to health.

How Missy the Cat Ran into Difficulties

Missy is a three-year-old cat that lives with the Sewell family on Avenue Road in Napier. When the floodwaters were rising around the home, Missy became trapped with no way to escape. The cat hid in the space below the house, as the water was less than one centimeter from entering the house. Missy remained hidden below the house in fear, even after her family returned home. 18-year-old Lexi Sewell returned home mid-afternoon and realized that her cat was missing. She began to search for the cat, but there was no sign of Missy. Shortly after, Lexi’s father, Jay, returned home, and he also began to search. Eventually, he heard a weak meow coming from below the house.

The Rescue Attempts

Stuff says that as soon as Jay and Lexi heard the meow, they rushed outside to find their cat. They realized that she was trapped in the space below the house, although they couldn’t find the cat’s exact location. Every time they thought they knew where she was, it seemed like the cat moved to a different area below the house. They also couldn’t get to the cat because she was behind the wallboards. By now, the water surrounding the house was 30 centimeters deep. They decided that the only option was to cut holes in the wallboards in a bid to release the cat. Jay could hear Missy below the laundry, so this was where he made the first cut with his reciprocating saw. Unfortunately, Missy then moved, so they still could not rescue her from under the house.

Next, they heard her below the kitchen, so he cut another hole. Again, Jay cut a hole, but the cat moved for a second time. They were now getting desperate to rescue Missy as the water continued to rise around her. Jay resorted to cutting two more holes in places where they heard Missy until there were four holes cut in the wallboards. Again, Missy moved each time Jay used his saw to cut a new hole. Jay and Lexi believe it was the noise of the saw that was causing Missy to move to different locations beneath the house.

Finally Rescuing Missy

By the time Jay had cut four holes into the floor, they had been attempting to rescue Missy for almost five hours. The water had continued to rise during that time, and it was now almost touching the floorboards. Jay and Lexi could see Missy moving around under the house and ducking beneath the joists but still could not reach her. When there was almost no air space left between the water and the floorboards, Lexi saw a few bubbles rise from the water. She thinks that Missy had been swimming in the water beneath the house, and the bubbles were the sign of her last breath.

Just when it looked like there was no hope of Missy making it out alive, the cat suddenly leaped into Lexi’s arms. She had been trapped beneath the house since before Lexi arrived home at 3.30 p.m., and she did not make her escape until 8.30 p.m. Lexi later said that she truly believed that they had lost their cat and said that she was an emotional mess during their rescue attempts. Although she had continued to try and rescue Missy, Lexi had almost lost hope that there was any way that Missy would make it out alive. Likewise, Jay had also doubted that their cat would survive the ordeal. They are both so grateful that their cat made it out of the flood alive and well.

The Aftermath of the Floods

It was not until the following morning that the floods began to clear, and the water lines were clearly visible on the side of the Sewells’ home in Napier. Some areas of the property were still flooded and damaged, including their garage and sleep out. Although there was some damage to the property, there were many people in the local area whose properties had suffered much greater damage.

The greater concern for the Sewells was the welfare of their beloved cat. Thankfully, not only did Missy escape from the floodwater under the house, but she also has suffered no lasting damage from her ordeal. Jay and Lexi said that she spent the following morning exploring the holes that were cut during the rescue. There is now some repair work to do on the wallboards where Jay cut the holes, and the outside of their home was left littered with tools and pieces of wood. However, that is a small price to pay for the safety of Missy.