Cat recovering after rescue from underneath concrete
CRANBERRY TWP — Nearly two weeks after being rescued, Peggy Tabachka's cat Boo is “recovering well.”
Boo, one of Tabachka's two cats, was trapped underneath a bed of concrete around the house's pool on Deerfield Drive.
“I can't even describe it,” Tabachka said. “I thought she was gone.”
Boo has been resting at his home since then. Aside from a scratch on his nose, Boo suffered no physical injuries.
Tabachka however said he has not been as “wild” as before, and started eating more Sunday after only eating small portions of food.
“Sunday it was very windy and leaves were hitting her on the head. She came running and diving at the door to be let in,” she said.
Tabachka thought Boo had died after the cat had been out of sight for two days. Crews were working on the concrete around the pool and under the pool's walkway.
Tabachka said she first became aware of Boo's whereabouts after her other cat, Blackie, was sniffing the new concrete by the pool and then lay down on top of it.
“She never lies over there,” Tabachka said.
After walking toward Blackie, Tabachka heard a faint meow from underneath.
She said Boo was probably frightened by the loud sounds the work was making and hid under the walkway. Once the concrete was poured, Boo's escape was sealed off.
Tabachka called friends and coworkers to help dig and clear brush. A firefighter recommended Metarko Landscaping to dig Boo out.
A crew from Metarko came in to unearth the patch of concrete surrounding Boo, using sledgehammers and a circular saw. The crew cut around where Boo was without hurting her with the aid of a thermal-imaging camera.
Tabachka wasn't charged for the rescue and said she would hire Metarko to fix the concrete.
Tabachka said Boo enjoys catching moles. Sometimes she also catches bunnies.
“She's a good mole catcher. I don't like when she catches bunnies, though,” Tabachka said.
She said since the ordeal, Boo has been a bit more “apprehensive.”
“I think she's used up all nine lives,” Tabachka said.
Tabachka adopted Boo after the cat was found in a Dumpster more than three years ago at the Cranberry Elks. Veterinarians told her Boo was a tabby-mixed breed.
“That used up two lives,” Tabachka said.
Blackie is another feral cat Tabachka adopted after being found living in a groundhog burrow.
Tabachka said she doesn't blame the company working on her pool for Boo being trapped. However, she asks that next time they inform her when they'll be coming to work so she knows when not to let her cats outside.
