Kitten Tumbles Down Chimney, Rapunzel Rescue Saves Little Furball

RIVERSIDE COUNTY, CA — A curious kitten is no worse for wear this week after getting stuck in a Jurupa Valley home's chimney.

On Tuesday, Rudy — a 6-month-old black domestic-short-haired kitty — somehow climbed atop the Rathke Drive home before taking a plunge down the chimney.

The homeowner, Natasha Hunter, and her daughter, Amaya Jones, learned their feline was stuck after hearing his meows for help.

The fireplace had long been sealed in a home redesign, so getting the little furball unstuck was not going to be easy.

To the rescue came Riverside County Animal Services Officer Chris Peck. He climbed atop the home and peered down the chimney. Knowing he's no Santa Claus and that he didn't have a device long enough to reach the kitten, he used some old-time ingenuity.

Peck climbed down from the rooftop and noticed the family had a box of clothes outside their property. He asked if he might be able to use some sweaters and pants to create a makeshift ladder for Rudy.

The family came up with a better solution: a red bedsheet.

Peck headed back up on the roof and strung together pieces of the bright fabric. He unfurled the cat-climbing apparatus down the chimney with the hope that Rudy would eventually use it to claw out on his own.

Rudy is truly a mischievous daredevil. Sometime after 4 a.m. Wednesday, one of the family’s Ring cameras captured the fluffball scurrying about in the back yard like, "Hey, here I am."

Hunter called Peck’s actions Rapunzel-like.

“Officer Peck was awesome — he was willing to try stuff,” Hunter said. “He said, 'Worst case scenario, we’re going to have to make a hole in your house.’”

But it never came to that. As curious as Rudy was about climbing onto the roof, he was just as interested in climbing out of the chimney.

Rudy is one of a recent litter of kittens. Riverside County Animal Services said it is working with Hunter to get all the kittens — and momma cat — altered to prevent any further litters.