A quiet Saturday morning turned into a heartwarming rescue mission for Tommy, a current resident of a local residential drug and alcohol treatment center.

What started as a normal morning quickly became an act of compassion that brought two tiny lives to safety.

Tommy, who had just stepped outside to the front porch to begin his day, was approached by one of the program’s treatment assistants, or TA, who needed help. She led him to a storm drain where the faint cries of a kitten had been heard earlier.

Oxford firefighters had reportedly attempted a rescue earlier, but the drain’s tight space made it difficult for them to reach the kitten.

“They said there was a kitten down in there, but they couldn’t see it,” Tommy said. “I guess I was just small enough to get down in there and do what needed to be done.”

Using a mix of food, gentle calling and a makeshift “blanket ladder” that firefighters had left behind, Tommy, along with another resident, Derek, tried to coax the frightened kitten out of hiding. It took around 15 to 20 minutes before the tiny feline finally grabbed hold of the fabric and was lifted to safety.

“She was probably only two or three weeks old,” Tommy said.

The kitten was given to the TA, who cared for it until finding it a more permanent home. 

But the rescue mission didn’t end there.

The next day, after a group meeting, word came that another kitten had been spotted in the same drainage system—this one nearly 100 feet away from where the first had been found.

“We used the same strategy,” he said.

After another successful rescue, the second kitten was also cleaned, fed and comforted. A nearby neighbor stepped up to take in the second kitty.

Tommy, who grew up with a veterinarian father and spent much of his childhood around animals, said his instinct to help came naturally.

“I didn’t wake up thinking I’d be crawling into a storm drain to save a kitten,” he said. “But I’ve always loved animals.”