Stormwater crews rescue Pickles the cat from Lake Anne drain after hours-long effort

Pickles, a rescue cat, was trapped in a stormwater drain at Lake Anne in Reston for almost a week.

Her owners unsuccessfully tried to get him out after he became stuck on Dec. 4, his mews audible through a manhole.

After Fairfax County’s animal control staff said they couldn’t humanely trap the cat and the Fire and Rescue Department’s non-emergency line also said they could not do much, the owners turned to the county’s stormwater maintenance team for help.

After working from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Friday (Dec. 9), the team was able to get Pickles out, according to Brittany Catton Kirk, the owner.

“After a laborious first attempt/ he escaped and ran down a second drain. I seriously was going to give up at that point but your team did not. They moved the truck and started again. And this time got him!” Kirk said.

She told FFXnow that the cat was rescued on a freeway in Maryland a year ago.

Kirk said they promise to keep the feral rescue cat indoors from now on and lauded the team for their effort.

“It would have been an entirely different Christmas and trauma to know our cat was dying in a closed dark space, and now he is safe at home,” Kirk wrote.

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