Kitten Survives Night In Freezer

A brown tabby kitten has been dubbed “Chilly” after surviving a night in a freezer and living to mew about it.

Seattle police believe two boys are responsible for turning on the refrigerator in the basement of a South Park apartment building, sticking the 4-month-old kitty in the freezer and leaving her there overnight, said animal control enforcement supervisor Don Jordan.

An apartment manager heard mewing Thursday morning and called 911.

The kitten’s paws were stuck to the bottom of the freezer, so an animal control officer unplugged and thawed the refrigerator, then placed Chilly under the heater in his vehicle for about an hour.

Had her rescuers been any later, Chilly might not have made it, said Dr. Stanley Coe, the veterinarian treating her at Elliott Bay Animal Hospital.

On Saturday, Chilly still was recuperating while Coe waited to see how much tissue damage she received. Coe said he might have to amputate some toes, but overall, her prognosis is good.

Jordan estimates she spent seven or eight hours in the freezer, but he speculated that the freezer might not have been running at full capacity.

Animal control said it would recommend animal cruelty charges be filed against the boys, ages 7 and 10, who live in the building.