Kitten survives five-hour rescue mission after being flushed down toilet

Little Alannah Merleto learned a valuable lesson that some things just shouldn't be flushed down a toilet - like a kitten. It wasn't the first time the mischievous Australian three-year-old had put unusual objects down the loo, but never before had it required eight firemen and a five-hour rescue mission to save the day.

And save the day - and the kitten - they did, reuniting Alannah with a soaking wet and slightly worse for wear kitten. "Kitty cat is back," she said, squeezing the kitten with love as she thanked the fireman.



Mum Ammie Croft called in the cavalry to her Baulkham Hills home after not being able to find the fourth kitten in a newly-born litter. "I asked Alannah if she knew where he was and she said 'down the toilet'," Ms Crofts said. "I didn't believe it could be true. I thought, 'she can't have put the kitten down the toilet'." A whimper from the pipes confirmed her fears.

Complete with rescue equipment used in the 1989 Newcastle earthquake disaster, the NSW Fire Brigade arrived and began their quest. They pulled apart the toilet, and weaved a camera down the pipe. "He was just sitting in the pipe, crying a bit," Inspector Tim Fox said. A prodding device covered with rags was used to push the kitten 10m to a pipe access point where an officer plucked it to safety.

With news video.