Tokyo, AP - A MEWING from under a shattered factory led workmen to a cat they pulled out of rubble 21 days after the devastating earthquake leveled much of Kobe city in western Japan.
Workmen were clearing debris from the factory Tuesday when they heard the weak call of a trapped cat, a Kobe veterinarian said yesterday.
Bet the cat, names Busu, or ugly, had to wait several more hours as workmen removed iron plates and bars by acetylene torch to reach her.
The cat's right paw needs amputated because it was crushed between a locker and a sewing machine in the January 17, 7.2 magnitude puake, said the veterin,Todhiro Moriuchi.
The yellow and brown tortoise shell cat is being nurse back to health so she can survive the surgery. Moriuchi didn't know the cat's age but estimated it as the equivalent of 90 in human terms.