To say Emme the cat has a wild streak is an understatement. According to her owner, LeeAnn Spiess, the four-legged fur ball has always had a flair for the dramatic.
The sneaky shorthaired grey cat has a history of being locked in a neighbor's basement and even wound up in the back of a delivery truck, taking a joy ride throughout her home state of Massachusetts.
"This is a cat who came to our door several years ago starving and skinny," Spiess tells PEOPLEPets.com.
That was about 10 years ago, and Emme (named for her beautiful emerald green eyes) has been on mischievous adventures ever since.
"She just wants to get out," Spiess says. "She has that hunting instinct."
Emme's latest stunt nearly cost the cat her life. On April 13, she darted out the door while Spiess was letting her dog in and never returned home. "I was convinced we lost her for good," Spiess recalls.
The next morning, a startled neighbor discovered Emme dangling from a storm drain grate just one street away from the Spiess home. Animal Control and local firefighters were called in to help rescue the terrified cat.
"They had to remove the whole grate with Emme still in it," Spiess explains. "And then transport the grate with Emme stuck in it to the animal hospital."
Not knowing whom the cat belonged to; police nicknamed her "Rubik" because the grate looked like a Rubik's Cube. Emme was safely freed from the grate, but suffered a swollen head, hypothermia and was traumatized. She was sedated and given medication during her one-night stay at ACORN Animal Hospital.
Norfolk, Mass., police say they don't know how long the cat was hanging, but they don't think foul play was a factor.
"They think she was chased by another animal and got scared," Spiess says. "I was sick. I said, 'Oh my God, that poor thing.' "
On Thursday, the horrified but relieved mother reunited with Emme at the veterinarian's office and took her home. "I just took her in my arms and she was purring up a storm. I was just so ecstatic and so happy she was okay."
Emme is doing well, resting and cuddling at home, and she seems to have changed her wild ways–at least for now.
"She has no desire to get out of the house," Spiess says. "She's certainly used several of her lives here with us, and who knows how many she's used prior."
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