NC aviation museum rescues mother cat and 5 kittens hidden inside historic plane
HICKORY, NORTH CAROLINA: In a bizarre event at a North Carolina museum, a mother cat and her five kittens were rescued. The incident is reported from the Hickory Aviation Museum when an employee at the famous museum heard and followed unusual noises from one of the museum’s planes. The staffer then found the source of the strange sound to be a cat and her five babies.
"Not only do we battle rain, wind, heat, wasps, and birds, one of the cats that roams the airport near the terminal decided to have kittens in the T-33 Shooting Star. If anyone is looking for a kitten, please stop by during museum hours and inquire. This is why we need to build the museum to get our aircraft indoors!!!!" the museum wrote on its Facebook page.
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The museum figured out that the cat gave birth to the kittens inside its historic Lockheed T-33 Shooting Star and had hidden them in the plane to make sure they stayed there until they were big enough to fend for themselves. The entire incident was first reported by Charlotte Observer, which added that the museum did not let out the cats and instead figured out a way to get them adopted. These felines will all be made available for adoption once they are eight weeks old.
The Humane Society of Catawba County stepped in and helped Hickory Aviation Museum safely take away the cats from their premises with help of humane traps around the museum. This was done to avoid scaring them off the museum grounds and to the Hickory Regional Airport, which is around the corner. The last of the felines were taken in on October 31, by the Humane Society of Catawba County and are currently kept in the shelter’s care, receiving necessary vaccinations and getting paperwork for their adoptions in December, reported People.
It didn’t come as a surprise that the last cat to be captured was the mother itself, since she outdid the traps for a few days. "She steps over the plate and gets the food and jumps out before the trap goes off. I've never seen anything like it," Erin Hooks, the director of development for the humane society, told McClatchy News.
Interestingly, Greater Good Charities launched an emergency airlift of 54 cats and 36 dogs via its Good Flights program after Hurricane Ian near the aviation area, as per the report. "This emergency flight of shelter pets from Florida is one of many efforts that Greater Good Charities is doing to help the people and pets impacted by Hurricane Ian," said Liz Baker, CEO of Greater Good Charities in a statement. "We are planning for possible future transports and are also working diligently with partners in affected and surrounding areas to send in pet food, supplies, and humanitarian aid to help the people and pets reeling from this catastrophic disaster," Baker added.