The following was released Thursday by the South Walton Fire District:

South Walton FIRE DISTRICT
MEDIA RELEASE

Public Information Officer:  
Sean Hughes,  Deputy Chief   
South Walton Fire District     
911 N. CR 393
Santa Rosa Beach, FL 32459
850-267-1298
shughes@swfd.org

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Not the Proverbial “Cat in a Tree”

Firefighters have always been associated with getting cats out of trees; it presents the classic Norman Rockwell scene. This morning, when a local resident called the SWFD Communications Center asking for help for her small kitten, SWFD firefighters were poised to respond.  Yet this was not the usual cat in a tree call. The caller stated that she found a kitten stuck in a bug sprayer and asked if she could come by the fire station for assistance.  The Dispatcher gave her directions to SWFD Headquarters and notified the on-duty crew of the unusual circumstances. 

Minutes later, the resident arrived with the small kitten that had its head stuck in the neck of the sprayer.  The kitten did not appear to be in distress, but could not be coaxed to back his head out.  The Firefighters decided to use their skills and training to remove the sprayer from the kitten.  After approximately ten minutes the kitten was freed from the sprayer uninjured.

The resident stated that a stray cat had given birth just a week ago and believed that this was one of the new kittens.