Dec. 24 (UPI) -- Police in Wyoming said a "cat-astrophe" was averted when a feline decided to play Santa Claws and became stuck inside a chimney.
The Powell Police Department said officers were summoned to Northwest College Foundation's Nelson House, where staff had heard a cat crying from inside the chimney but were unable to reach the animal.
Sgt. Dustin DelBiaggio and Officer Isaac Gutierrez responded to the scene, but the cat fled further up the chimney.
The officers said they dropped objects into the chimney from the roof in an attempt to spook the cat into climbing lower.
"The two of us tried to squeeze into the fireplace together, and kind of were able to hold on to it, onto both sides, until [Gutierrez] was able to get the good grasp on it and pull it out of there," DelBiaggio told the Powell Tribune.
The cat was dirty and thirsty, but uninjured.
The pet's owners said the cat had been wandering outside for longer and longer periods of time lately. They said it had been missing for about a week when it turned up in the chimney.
The family is currently out of town for Christmas, but will be reunited with the cat at the local animal shelter when they return.
