Ring-tailed cat removed from Colorado home's boiler room

Jan. 8 (UPI) -- Animal control officers in Colorado responded to a resident's home to rescue a ring-tailed cat that wandered into the house and took up residence in the boiler room.

The Jefferson County Sheriff's Office said animal control officers were dispatched to a home in Evergreen where a resident discovered the ring-tailed cat -- a wild animal related to raccoons -- in the rafters of their boiler room.

The officers set a trap for the animal, which was ensnared within an hour, the sheriff's office said.

The ring-tailed cat was released into a nearby wooded area. The sheriff's office said the species is native to Colorado, but they are nocturnal and are rarely spotted by the state's human residents.