It took cameras, drilling through brick walls and lasagne rations to rescue them but two kittens are now safe thanks to the efforts of the NSW SES Kempsey Shire unit.
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The Kempsey general land rescue team attended to two separate rescues at a Greenhill property on March 25 and April 27.
Resident Barry Roberts said that he and his granddaughter could hear the kittens in the walls.
"They were singing out," he said.
"I thought it was a bush rat but my grand daughter kept saying it sounds like a little kitten."
His son in law contacted the SES who soon attended the scene.
NSW SES Kempsey Shire unit commander Bill Sanders said that the rescue team had to use a camera to find a way of accessing the first kitten.
"We found where the kitten was and we had to bust a brick out, make a hole and entice the kitten to come to us," he said.
"Obviously it was a bit hesitant because of the racket we made drilling through the brickwork."
Mr Sanders said that this was unique rescue for the team.
Normally the SES are able to come from under the floor space or from the top down through a wall cavity but that wasn't possible in this instance.
Over five weeks later, the general land rescue team attended the property for a second kitten that was stuck in the wall cavity.
The rescue team was able to get to the animal from the ceiling space but had to think outside of the box to draw the feline closer towards them.
"We have ration packs on board all our vehicles for ourselves if we get stuck somewhere," Mr Sanders said.
"In that they had some lasagne so they bought that out, heated up and enticed the kitten to them."
It's unclear how the animals were able to get into the house but Mr Sanders said that pet owners should definitely be aware of risks around the home for their cats.
"Make sure there is no way a domestic cat can enter your ceiling space and... make sure your eves are secure," he said.
"We actually looked and we couldn't figure out how [the kittens got stuck] particularly the one stuck in the brick wall.
"We couldn't even access it under the house or even the roof."
With the kittens gone, Mr Roberts said he was planning on putting rat bait in the ceiling now that the area is cat-free.
"It's pretty quite there at the moment now," he said.
The small felines have been taken to a kitten rescue in Port Macquarie.
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Emily Walker
Reporter at Macleay Argus and Port Macquarie News.
Reporter at Macleay Argus and Port Macquarie News.
