Firefighters save cat stuck in toilet

No one knows just how Charlie the cat got stuck in the toilet.

Firefighters had to break apart the toilet with hammers to free Charlie.

BELMONT, NC (WBTV) - The 911 dispatchers in Gaston County took a bizarre call about a cat stuck in a toilet this weekend.

Christie Klassette rescued old Charlie a couple of months ago.

The cat has never been a problem until Sunday. Klassette was in the kitchen and heard Charlie squealing.

The sound was coming from the bathroom. The cat's back legs were stuck in the drain.

"He was splashing water everywhere," she said. Klassette tried everything to get the feline loose.

"I thought he was just sitting there but when I went to pick him up he wouldn't move," she said.

She picked up the phone and called 911. The fire department arrived in five minutes. They used hammers to break the toilet bowl.

"They had to either bust the toilet or break his legs," Klassette said. In about 15 minutes, Charlie was free.

Klassette isn't sure whether her 3-year-old son William tried to flush Charlie or if the feline was trying to drink water from the bowl.

Next time, Klassette says she'll leave the cover down.

"He's a miracle cat," she said. "I thought he was a goner."

The family rescued the stray a short time ago and never intended to keep him. Charlie the cat is up for adoption and looking for a good home.