Kittens rescued from flooded Florence sewer

Gary Strickland is an assistant principal at West Florence High School whose priority is the students and faculty.

But Strickland is also an animal lover, and he’s going to look out for animals that might be trying to further their education at West Florence High. He feeds the cats who have taken up residence there daily.

Such was the case Sept. 10 when Strickland heard a cat crying for help about 10 p.m. Strickland followed the sound and found a little kitten huddled up by a storm drain.

But that wasn’t the kitten who was meowing. It was another one whose meow had turned into a caterwaul by the time Strickland located it.

And it wasn’t wailing for help with calculus.

“I managed to get the cover off the drain and expected to see a kitten huddled up in the corner of the drain,” Strickland said. “To my surprise, I found the drain had been stopped up. It was filled with about 3 feet of water.

“I then saw a kitten swimming in the water and crying its lungs out. I have no idea how long it had been there, but it was a tired baby when I got it out.”

Strickland took both kittens inside and dried them off. They then went home with him, much to the chagrin of his own cats.

They spent the night in a bathtub to keep his four felines from bothering them. The two guests dined on wet food, which they wolfed down with great gusto. They calmed down, huddled together and slept the night away in a towel.

Strickland took them to the Florence Area Humane Society animal shelter the next day. The kittens are both females about 6 to 8 weeks old.

“They are long-haired and beautiful,” Strickland said. “I named the ‘swimmer’ Michael Phelps, but I guess it now has to be Michele Phelps. She seems no worse for her ordeal and should have six to seven lives left.

“Anyone looking for a sweet kitten couldn’t go wrong adopting either, or both of them. After she fought so hard to live, Michele deserves a good home with lots of love for the remainder of her nine lives.”

Katy Hollingsworth is the manager of the FAHS shelter. She said the kittens are medium hair, mixed tabbies who are “very small” and “very cute.”

“They have had their first shots and first worming,” she said. “They are very friendly and are ready for a new home.”

Hollingsworth said the kittens weren’t used to people when they first arrived. But personnel at the shelter have been trying to socialize with them as much as possible to get them used to people.

“I think the little kitties had a rough start to life,” she said. “But now they love to be held. They need a house that will give them a lot of love and continue to spoil them.”

Meanwhile, a litter of six puppies needs some help, too.

Donny Chandler and his mother found them abandoned and left to die in a wooded area near their home. They took the pups home and washed and fed them.

But they ended up having to take them to FAHS shelter, where they hope the pups will find good homes. They gave the shelter $150 “just to make sure that they would be well cared for.”

“As I write, I don’t know what was the hardest, catching them, taking care of them or having to let them go,” Chandler said. “I just wanted someone to know what people like me and my mother are willing to do to help save animals. I hope this helps raise awareness of animal abuse and shows how the Florence Area Humane Society is trying to help animals have a second chance.”