“Sorry to ask, but is the cat still alive?”
The query was raised by a ComEd customer support rep. The cat she was referring to is Edgar, my household feline — a 9-year-old orange tabby on a particular food plan for his thyroid situation.
Edgar had spent a frosty night time alone atop a utility pole in our alley earlier this week. We estimate he was up there for 15 hours on that 4-inch beam.
If he had backed up only a few inches, he would have misplaced all 9 lives in a single surprising flash. A ComEd spokeperson later instructed me the excessive voltage wires up there hum with 4,000 volts or extra, including “Yes, they’d kill him.”
Edgar’s ordeal started on a quiet night within the not-so-wild west suburbs. I used to be making dinner, and Edgar (aka Eddie Cheddars) was begging for chow. I gave him a little bit of hen, questioning if the vet would discover that he’d veered off his food plan.
Finally, I’d had sufficient and tossed him out the entrance door. Eddie is an indoor-outdoor cat and an professional mouser. He’s the block captain of the native kitties, and he guidelines with an iron paw. He’s a puss with clout.
But as Edgar was dumped on the porch, he stopped and hissed — an unleashed German shepherd with no proprietor in sight was climbing the steps to our small concrete porch.
Eddie’s hair raised and his tail obtained as bushy as a squirrel’s. He stood his floor and swatted on the pooch, who appeared pleasant sufficient.
I left to get a deal with for the canine stranger and a flashlight to assist learn his collar. The canine was clearly well-cared for, however I didn’t know him.
In the time whereas I walked away, my spouse went on the entrance porch to test the shepherd’s tags. He promptly bit her thigh (a narrative for one more day), and Edgar bolted.
A police report was filed. The responding officer wouldn’t go close to the German shepherd, who was now wandering the block. Later, the canine was noticed in a neighbor’s yard. Ol’ Shep’s reign of terror ended late within the night when he was impounded and dropped at the Animal Care League.
But, for the primary time ever, Edgar didn’t return home. Like dorks at midnight, we walked the neighborhood, calling his title and shaking a can of kibble. Nothing.
Edgar all the time comes home — to whine, to beg, to wake anybody who slept. He faucets the door and asks “Meow? Meow?” like he’s saying “Yoo-hoo? Anybody home?”
So we went to mattress with a contact of angst. I obtained up greater than as soon as to shake a can of meals by the back and front doorways. Still no signal of Eddie Cheddars.
Early within the morning my spouse obtained as much as scour the neighborhood. She got here home and woke me. “You won’t believe this. Edgar is on top of a telephone pole.”
Um, say once more?
“He’s at the very top of a telephone pole in the alley two houses down. You can see him from the back porch. I don’t know how he’s going to get out of this one.”
Edgar sits excessive above the alley under earlier than his eventual rescue. (Marc Vitali / WTTW News)
She rode her bike to the firehouse a block away. The fire-fighting people obtained of their large engine and drove the 100 yards to our home. They took one look and mentioned they couldn’t go up there. Too near the facility traces.
“He’ll come down by himself,” they instructed us.
We had doubts. Edgar is a variety of issues, however he’s not a lot of a climber. The solely tree we’ve ever seen him climb was a small Christmas tree. Now he was 35 toes within the air with a technique down and electrocution an actual chance.
Then a firefighter added, “You might try ComEd.”
My spouse referred to as ComEd and instructed them that, no, we hadn’t misplaced energy however we would lose a cat. The person on the opposite line instructed us that it occurs generally — the truth is, this was her second catcall, so to talk, this month. She mentioned they’d have someone come out and would expedite the request.
We figured it could be early afternoon at greatest. Our solely criticism with the utility firm is that they got here out too quickly. They arrived inside the hour. When we noticed the vehicles, we bumped into the alley — however we had missed the rescue.
I later spoke with Amin Aburomi, ComEd’s supervisor of regional electrical operations, who managed the staff of “troublemen” — the primary responders who saved Edgar from getting roasted.
Aburomi instructed WTTW News, “It’s a risky situation. I’ve been on site for three different instances like this, and it’s scary watching a cat up there on the pole. Usually they don’t touch the wire. They step over it. I don’t know if it’s a cat’s instincts or what, but they tend to not touch the wire.”
ComEd doesn’t hold official information of those incidents, however Aburomi famous: “The ones that I’ve been on have always been successful removals — no harm, no foul.”
My spouse, who takes care of the payments, requested if we’d be getting a invoice. Thankfully, the reply was no.
Aburomi instructed us the actual heroes had been his co-workers, Artur Majczak and Robert Sullivan, who went up within the cherry picker to grab the cat.
“They take a lot of pride and dedication in their work. The safety of the public, themselves, and even cats are important to them,” Aburomi mentioned. “The most important thing was to get the cat down safely. By the time they got down, the cat was getting antsy and jumped and took off. So we figured, OK, the job is done.”
Minutes after his rescue, Edgar was again on the entrance door. He obtained an additional serving to of his particular meals, slept for an extended, very long time, and didn’t ask to exit that night time. It was actually Eddie’s riskiest journey since his gotcha day — when my daughter discovered him as a tiny kitten in the midst of a road in Ukrainian Village.
So we’re thrilled that Eddie Cheddars shall be round to greet the New Year and that we are able to chuckle at what was almost a household tragedy. And we’re grateful to ComEd for saving Ed — however they’ve positively raised our expectations of service the subsequent time the facility goes out.
Edgar the cat in a a lot much less aggravating pose beneath the Christmas tree. (Marc Vitali / WTTW News)
