Bravo! Kitten saved by boys in Mamaroneck

Mamaroneck boys save kitten frozen under sewer grate

 December 11, 2010

Randi Weiner
rcweiner@lohud.com

MAMARONECK — At first, the two boys thought the tiny black spots on the sewer grate could be mice. Then they took a closer look and spotted a kitten suspended over the muddy and nearly frozen water below.

The black spots were her paws, glued to the metal grate the way a tongue sticks to a freezing light pole. She might have mewed. (Jack Masciopinto thought so, but buddy Mike Margolis differed.) The 10-year-olds, walking to school Friday morning with their younger brothers, just knew that something needed to be done.

“Me and Jack were walking in front and we looked over … and looked down and saw these green eyes staring up at us. So we called my mom and dad,” Mike said.

Brothers Brian Margolis, 8, and Luke Masciopinto, 9, waited with their siblings as first a neighbor and then their father, Steven Margolis, came to the Barry Street sewer grate, about halfway between their home and school.

The boys were sent on to class, while Steven Margolis contacted the village Department of Public Works.

Rescuing the kitten, who now is resting comfortably at Miller Clark Animal Hospital in Mamaroneck, was the work of a half-dozen people, none of whom could tell the story Friday without breaking out in smiles.

All agree that it probably would have died without the quick action of the F.E. Bellows School students.

DPW workers Vinnie Keck and Mark Ferraro — both cat owners themselves — were fast on the rescue, taking out a crowbar to pry up the metal grid.

“They had to hit (the grate) with a sledgehammer because it was frozen in the ground,” said mom Jenny Margolis, who had joined her husband at the grate for the rescue. “When they picked up the grate, the cat came up too.”

A police officer who had come to the scene offered water to release the kitten’s frozen paws.

DPW foreman Tony Iacovelli said his men aren’t often called on to rescue animals.

“It took five minutes or so, but I’m sure it seemed longer. Poor kitten,” Iacovelli said. “It was 21 degrees at 7 this morning, so it probably wasn’t much warmer when they went out there.”

Dr. Gina Antiaris said the kitten appeared to have survived her experience intact. She didn’t know how long the approximately 5- to 6-month-old kitten had been hanging there, but said it had not been long enough to create hypothermia concerns.

Right now, everybody is waiting to see if the kitten, which did not have a collar, will be claimed by an owner.

If nobody steps forward, she’ll be available for adoption.

The boys said they felt pretty good about rescuing the kitten.

Luke said the boys felt “if (she) fell, (she) would have died.”

Added 8-year-old Brian Margolis, “A cat has nine lives, but that might have been its last life.”