Penny the kitten rescued from storm drain on path to find forever home

An update on the kitten firefighters rescued from a storm drain. The baby feline is with Naval Hospital physician assistant Stephanie Houser and she’s named her, Penny. 

“In light of finding her in a sewer drain, Pennywise came to mind. And she’s a little girl so her name is Penny,” said Houser. 

The 4 week old kitten is currently staying with Hagatna resident Stephanie Houser after firefighters rescued her from a storm drain in Tamuning over the weekend. 

It all started with the community coming together on social media for the rescue. 

Houser said, “Somebody had posted on the Rough Pack that they had heard a kitten in the storm drain over by the Payless.”

Houser serves in the US Navy. 

By day, she’s a physician assistant saving lives in the emergency room at the Naval Hospital and on the side, she’s rescuing felines like Penny so she couldn’t ignore the call for help. 

“I literally cannot help myself. My husband says I should get a less expensive hobby. Everytime there’s a kitten that needs something I will try to help if I can,” Houser said. 

She tried to lure Penny out by playing mommy cat sounds. 

She explained, “The kitten immediately came out thinking mom was calling. You could see her trapped down there.” 

But the kitten was stuck and needed help from the Guam Fire Department (GFD). So Tamuning station firefighters responded to the call while also using the rescue as training. 

“The Fire Chief was actually really incredible. He used it as a training moment. He used terms like ‘Oh, it’s similar to a confined space rescue. This is how you make a fulcrum to get a very heavy object out.’ Because the grates are heavy,” Houser recalled. 

Now, Penny is safe and sound with Houser and on the mend. 

She said, “She was really dirty as you can imagine, wet, very terrified initially, a little dehydrated and starving. So I got her cleaned up, a dewormer, she’s already eating wet kitten food, drinking and using her litter box.”

Houser will be watching over the kitten until she can find her a forever home. 

“This one seems to have a very cute purr, very playful and is really affectionate towards people so far,” said Houser.