2 Animal Control Officers, Good Samaritans Rescue Cat Stuck In Barbed Wire Outside Riverside Business

RIVERSIDE (CBSLA.com)   —  Two Riverside County Animal Control officers rescued a cat who got stuck in some barbed wire outside a Riverside business Saturday morning.

Officers Mary Salazar and Jennifer Selter needed a ladder to reach the orange tabby.

The feline got his tail stuck in the wire, about eight feet off the ground, outside a business in the 1900 block of Massachusetts Avenue.

Business owners gave officers permission to cut the razor wire. They credited a handful of business employees and Good Samaritans with helping in the rescue. It took a little more than 35 minutes to free the animal.

"When I arrived, he was just hanging from his tail," Officer Salazar said. "When I saw that, I thought it was very bad. But as I got closer, I could see him looking at me."

Officers first thought the cat would have to be euthanized but quickly realized he figured out a way to position himself to minimize the damage.

"At first we didn't see a lot of hope for it," she said. "It appeared to be struggling and in a lot of pain. Once he calmed down, he was actually very nice."

Sumeet Bhanot watched as the officers tried to comfort and rescue the cat. He was one of the concerned passersby that contacted Riverside County to assist the animal. He described the officers as compassionate.

"They were amazing, professional persons," Bhanot said. "It was quite a commotion. But they were both heroes for the cat."