It was just another day for 22-year-old Nurhayati Hashim, who was on her way home Friday afternoon when she heard what sounded like a cat mewing from inside a letterbox. Shocked, she went to investigate and discovered the trapped animal inside a locked letterbox at Block 169, Bukit Batok West Avenue 8.
When she pushed the slat open, the feline frantically struggled to reach out its paw and escape, but Nurhayati was unable to do anything. She told Channel NewsAsia that she had panicked at first, and subsequently called the Bukit Batok Town Council for help. Unfortunately, she was redirected to SingPost, and then to the Housing Development Board, and back to the town council.
So she decided to visit the letterbox’s corresponding unit for help. The woman who opened the door could not communicate in English, so she phoned her daughter-in-law, who told Nurhayati that they did not have the letterbox key, as they were house-sitting for a tenant who was overseas.
Still determined to help, Nurhayati called the police, who eventually got in touch with SingPost. According to The Straits Times, a SingPost spokesman said that an Inspector of Post responded immediately and arrived at the scene at about 1:30pm to open the letterbox and free the black cat.
The spokesman added that this was the first time an animal has been trapped in a letterbox.
Nurhayati said that the cat was fine after it was rescued. No injuries were reported, and several residents gave it food and water before was released.
It’s unclear how the cat even got itself into the letter box, and no investigations are reportedly being carried out into the incident.
