New Bedford Restaurant Rescues Cat and Kittens from Ceiling

The staff and ownership at Quahog Republic Whaler's Tavern must have thought they were losing their minds.

Were they hearing things?

Imagine running into the Downtown New Bedford restaurant's basement and hearing soft "meows" coming from someplace you can't quite pin down.

Staffers were shocked when they finally tracked down the source of the noise: Four tiny kittens were tucked away with their mumma above the workers' heads in the restaurant's drop-down ceiling in the basement.

The crew called the Animal Rescue League of Boston to get some help.

According to staff and a local community cat feeder, the mother cat had shown up a couple of weeks earlier, but concern grew once people heard the sound of kittens meowing.

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Once on scene, Animal Rescue League field agents spotted the kittens through a space between walls and a hole in the ceiling. With one agent acting as a spotter, the second reached into the space to scoop up the four tiny kittens and safely secure them for transport. Agents tried luring the mother with food and kitten sounds, but they had to leave the humane trap at the restaurant to finally catch her.

The cat and her three-week-old kittens are now together in foster care until the babies are old enough for adoption.

Things are now purr-fectly back to normal at Quahog Republic. Sorry, we couldn't resist.