Japanese city warned to beware of cat who fell into vat of toxic chemicals
Cat’s out of the vat.
A Japanese city is on high alert for a potentially toxic cat who fell into a vat of carcinogenic chemicals at a steel manufacturing plant and then escaped into the streets in a scene reminiscent of a Marvel character origin story.
Residents of Fukuyama were warned to be on the lookout for an “abnormal-looking” cat and instructed to not approach or touch it if they spot it but instead call police, according to the South China Morning Post.
The feline — who seemingly used up one of its nine lives — is believed to have fallen into a tank of molten chromium at the Nomura Plating factory over the weekend.
A worker who arrived for their shift at the factory Monday morning discovered a mysterious trail of yellow paw prints across the parking lot.
Employees then checked the security camera and found footage showing the kitty entering the factory the night before.
The company that owns the factory said a sheet covering a tank of hexavalent chromium, which is orange and brown in color and highly acidic, was turned over.
They believe the cat climbed onto the sheet and plunged into the vat of the toxic chemical which is kept at 122 degrees Fahrenheit, the outlet reported.
Hexavalent chromium can cause a variety of health defects from skin irritation and rashes to respiratory problems to blindness to cancer depending on the severity and length of exposure, according to Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
Employees who work with the substance often used in plating and welding must wear rubber gloves and masks for protection.
Nomura Plating factory staffers immediately notified police and the city’s environmental team of the freak incident. The agencies alerted residents to stay clear of any cat displaying strange behavior.
Locals reportedly called up the company to chastize it for not having protocols in place to stop wandering animals from getting into dangerous chemicals.
“The incident woke us up to the need to take measures to prevent small animals like cats from sneaking in, which is something we had never anticipated before,” a spokesperson for the company said, according to the AFP news agency.
As of Tuesday, there have been no reported sightings of the cat. Health officials believe it could have died due to its dip in the hexavalent chromium vat.
Animal advocates slammed the factory for failing to take proper precautions — which they said led to the feline’s suggested death, the Morning Post reported.
Others said if the cat was someone’s pet, they should have never let it wander outside on its own.
One social media commenter, meanwhile, tried to make light of the situation.
“It may have evolved into a superalloy cat,” they joked, according to the Morning Post.
