A family in Danbury, Connecticut heard a mysterious noise coming from a concrete staircase, but they had no idea what it could be.
Peering through the crack between a masonry wall and the staircase, they couldn't believe it when they saw four little eyes staring back at them.
A surprising discovery
The eyes belonged to two kittens, who had fallen just far enough through the crack that they couldn't be pulled back out.
Realising this, the family knew they would need expert help. While the mother cat and two other kittens desperately waited to be reunited, the Danbury Fire Department was on its way.
Fire brigade to the rescue
It took all the experience and expertise the team had to work out how to rescue the two kittens, as their heads were stuck against the concrete stairs.
To avoid harming them, the firefighters came up with an ingenious plan. They would use rescue airbags, wedged into the cracks and held in place with blocks of wood!
This way, they could create a void large enough to allow the kittens to drop into the space below the stairs, from which they could then free them. Rescuers were waiting on the other side, ready to bring the kittens back to safety.
It may all have be within a day's work for the team, but the whole neighbourhood let out a sigh of relief when the kittens were declared healthy, and happily reunited with their mother.
