Firefighters help stranded cat with Doritos bag on head

Everyone in the St Petersburg neighbourhood wanted to know: How did the cat with the Doritos bag on its head get on top of the light pole? Did it climb first and then get its head stuck in a bag that blew by? Did it shove its head in the bag then climb blindly to the top? And how was it breathing up there?



None of the answers to those questions was answered on Tuesday, when the feline was first seen perched precariously atop a pole. Residents called St. Petersburg Fire and Rescue. And Progress Energy, which cut off power to the pole. The pole the cat was on was barely 4 inches in diameter, said fire Lt. Ron Kidwell of Station 1, which responded to the scene.

Kidwell and newly hired firefighter Kelly Blake used a ladder to reach the animal. "That cat was just shaking," Kidwell said. "It had no idea what was going on." As the animal teetered, Blake reached out with gloved hands. The cat squirmed. The red Doritos bag went flying. It was about 20 feet to the ground, but the cat landed on its feet, Kidwell said.


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It was last seen running behind a nearby house. Kidwell said cat calls aren't unusual; the department gets about one or two a month, he said. But he's never seen one with something on its head as well. His theory? The cat found the bag of chips on the ground, stuck its head inside, bumped into the pole then began climbing. "I don't know, it's a guess," he said. "That was just a weird situation."