By Kameel Stanley, Times Staff Writer
Saturday, April 28, 2012
ST. PETERSBURG — Everyone in the neighborhood wanted to know:
How did the cat with the Doritos bag on its head get on top of the light pole?
Did it climb first and then get its head stuck in a bag that blew by? Did it shove its head in the bag then climb blindly to the top? And how was it breathing up there?
None of the answers to those questions was answered Tuesday, when the feline was first seen perched precariously atop a pole near the intersection of 15th Avenue S and 23rd Street.
Residents called St. Petersburg Fire and Rescue. And Progress Energy, which cut off power to the pole.
The pole the cat was on was barely 4 inches in diameter, said fire Lt. Ron Kidwell of Station 1, which responded to the scene. Kidwell and newly hired firefighter Kelly Blake used a ladder to reach the animal.
"That cat was just shaking," Kidwell said. "It had no idea what was going on."
As the animal teetered, Blake reached out with gloved hands.
The cat squirmed. The red Doritos bag went flying.
It was about 20 feet to the ground, but the cat landed on its feet, Kidwell said.
It was last seen running behind a nearby house.
And what, you're wondering, might make this incident worth writing about? Easy. There's a spectacularly cheesy video of the whole thing (complete with background music of cats meowing Silent Night!). To see the video, look for the link to the right of this story underneath the ad. Or visit links.tampabay.com.