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A cat rescued by firefighters after getting stuck on a 60ft ledge has been reunited with his delighted owner.
The adventurous ginger tabby became trapped on the Railway Tunnels in Marina Esplanade, Ramsgate, on Saturday morning, sparking a dramatic rescue mission.
It has now emerged the cat had been missing for two weeks - causing sleepless nights for his worried owners - but his epic tail had a happy ending and he is now safely back home.
The RSPCA was first called to the drama on Saturday morning but was unable to reach the frightened feline, stranded on a narrow ledge about as high as four double-decker buses.
It is thought the cat had fallen about 10ft onto the ledge, from higher ground.
At about 11.30am, the RSPCA called the fire service for help.
Four vehicles including a rope rescue unit, height vehicle and technical rescue unit were sent to help, along with police.
Passers-by crowded to watch the large-scale operation as the cat paced anxiously along the ledge.
But the lucky moggy was eventually saved by firefighters who abseiled down to its rescue, and was passed safely into the care of the RSPCA.
RSPCA Inspector Clive Hopwood, explained: “The specialist team abseiled down to reach the poor, frightened cat and I went up in the aerial platform with a team so that, once they had hold of him safely, they could pass him to me to get down to safety.
“I checked him and, thankfully, he hadn’t been injured during his ordeal."
The cat was found to be microchipped but his details were not registered, so the RSCPA took him into its care and began searching for his owner.
Thankfully, after just a few hours, the cat’s owner spotted the charity's 'found’ poster and got in contact.
Two-year-old rescue cat Jinks had been missing from home for more than two weeks and his owner - Kim Abraham, from Ramsgate - was growing increasingly concerned.
“We had a lot of sleepless nights, we were so worried about him,” she said.
“We’re so relieved to have him back; it’s been fantastic. He’s very sleepy and quite underweight. He’s ravenous so we’re trying to feed him back up again slowly. Goodness knows what he’d been up to all that time!”
Jinks is now home with Kim and her husband, their three rescue dogs and two other cats, 13-year-old Ronnie and new addition, rescue kitten Fezziwig.
Kim describes Jinks as "a lovely, affectionate cat".
She said: “He’s very playful and isn’t frightened of anything so I’m not surprised he ended up getting into trouble!
"It’s so lovely to have him home. We’re going to take him to the vets to make sure he’s okay and we’re going to have him re-microchipped as we can’t understand why his chip didn’t bring him home to us.”
To help the RSPCA continue rescuing, rehabilitating and rehoming animals, visit its website or call its donation line on 0300 123 8181.
Escaped animals, unusual finds and news from the RSPCA can all be found here.
