The Chanucat Miracle
Christmas Day 2022 saw our most unusual campaign yet. A kitten
had been trapped for a week in the ceiling above the basketball court
at the YMCA in Jerusalem and the management were not being entirely helpful. So, COFIS sent an urgent message to everyone we knew asking for support to shame/persuade/influence the 'Y' to take action and save the kitten's life.
And it worked!
Tova Saul, who has been the subject of a National Geographic documentary for her work in helping thousands of stray cats over several decades, had informed us of the kitten's plight. As the COFIS campaign and allies in Israel made clear to 'the Y' that their inaction would be neither forgiven nor forgotten if anything happened to the kitten, at last things began to change. A male kitten, probably from the same litter, was found elsewhere in the building and handed over to Tova for rehoming.
Scaffolding was sourced (it is a very high ceiling) and cat rescuer extraordinaire Avi Kuzi arrived from Tel Aviv (see video above). In his IDF service, Avi was a search and rescue specialist and for many years has been applying his skills to saving animals. In this case, he scaled the scaffolding and then worked his magic to persuade the frightened kitten to go into the cage he was holding.
And, as a final footnote, the kitten from the ceiling was not only one of a batch of kittens that Tova found new homes for in the United States, but is now well settled with a loving family in a large house in Las Vegas. With this streak of luck, the casinos won't be safe!
Full rescue video below.