Saving Miss River Banks: A daring rescue between traffic and water

Meet the brave 4-month-old kitten who defied the odds. Our Lewisham Centre received a call to say that there was a kitten on the pavement in a very dangerous location between the main one way system in the centre of Lewisham and the edge of the River Quaggy near Lewisham Police Station.
Kelley from our Lewisham rescue team immediately attended and as she arrived could see the 4 month old kitten sat under the railings on top of the wall that is the edge of the river Quaggy. If the kitten fell it was a sheer drop down the wall into the water, if the kitten ran the other way they would be heading into four lanes of busy traffic. Kelley could only assume that the very frightened looking kitten must have stowed away under a vehicle and jumped out when the traffic stopped at the lights – how else could a kitten have ended up there?
Assisted by a member of the public Kelley carefully began to approach the kitten but to her horror the kitten jumped, but then grabbed an over hanging tree branch and climbed across river like a squirrel, she then disappeared into some undergrowth on the opposite bank. By the time Kelley had made her way around to the other side the kitten was nowhere to be seen but it was also very important not to look too thoroughly in case the kitten panicked again.
Kelley put some food on the bank, and then set up a cat trap and waited for several hours, but unsurprisingly after such an ordeal there was no sign of the kitten. The next morning all the food had gone, so more food was put out and this too disappeared overnight. A wildlife motion camera was then set up by the feeding point and to Kelley’s delight the kitten was amongst the pictures recorded. The next day Kelley set up a cat trap and waited several hours, but nothing. Kelley knew that the kitten was more likely to appear under cover of darkness so she returned again later that night and just before midnight the kitten was safely caught in the trap.
“Miss River Banks” is now safely at our Lewisham centre, she is frightened but as yet we are undecided if she is just frightened rather than feral. She is about 4 months old and our vets will be neutering and microchipping her.
Rescue is a cornerstone of our mission, and stories like Miss River Banks’ highlight the lengths our team will go to for animals in need. If you’d like to help support our mission of saving more animals who may have found themselves abandoned and in compromising circumstances, you can show your support by tapping the like button.