Thai kitties is facing the worst flooding.

Thailand is currently facing its worst flooding in 50 years. Flood waters have swamped more than two-thirds of the country, submerging rice fields and shutting down hundreds of factories while over 900,000 families and businesses have been impacted and hundreds of lives have been tragically lost. National relief efforts are now focused on providing essential food, clean water and shelter to displaced people and restoring damaged infrastructure to the Kingdom of Smiles and including animals !

Some cats and dogs was lucky. They can leave the place with their owners.

But not all of them were lucky like this !

Some were street dogs and feral cats who had found shelter and a bit of food at local temples and stayed since their basic needs were met and they were not harassed by those living at the temples. This is posing a bigger problem for rescuers trying to get them away from the flood waters as many of these dogs and cats are not used to such close contact and interaction with people forcing rescuers to create makeshift muzzles to keep the scared dogs from biting them as they are brought to safety.

There are several organizations that have mobilized around Thailand to help bring aid to the animals in need. Some are putting together care packages for the pets and their families and bringing them to their homes because there is no access to stores or food supplies. Other organizations are going out and bringing in as many cats and dogs as they can. The organizations are then getting them veterinary help if necessary, getting them vaccinated, and then to government shelters were they will hopefully be adopted.

Curiosity nearly did kill a Boulder County cat

Following some tense moments -- and a furry surprise -- Boulder County animal control officers and Boulder firefighters managed to free a tomcat that was found with his head stuck in a pipe.

Mark Evans, right, with Boulder Fire and Rescue,

tries to maneuver the head of a cat that has its head stuck in a pipe,

with the help of veterinary technician Grace Worland, left,

and county animal control officer Brandy Perkins, center. (Marty Caivano)

Suzanne Engert, who lives in the 11000 block of Flatiron Drive in Erie, reported finding the black-and-white cat lodged in a large metal pipe around 12:30 p.m.

She said she walked behind her shed to see her garden when "something sort of caught my eye."

"This black cat was just laying there," she said. "I must have walked past the cat a couple of times."

Engert said it appeared as if the cat had been digging with its feet to try to free itself for some time. Animal control officers suspect the cat may have been stuck in the pipe for as long as two days.

After Engert tried unsuccessfully to free the cat herself, firefighters with the Mountain View Fire District arrived and cut away a section of the pipe so that officers could try to free it.

Despite efforts to lube the cat's head using vegetable oil and soap, the cat remained stuck.

So officials brought the cat -- pipe and all -- to the Humane Society of Boulder Valley. There, Boulder firefighters worked with veterinary staffers and animal control officers to free the cat.

Following several tense minutes when it appeared firefighters could not break open the pipe without hurting the animal, the cat's head popped out to the cheers of a small crowd that had gathered to watch the rescue operation.

Brandy Perkins, a Boulder County animal control officer, nearly burst into tears.

"I'm really emotional," she said. "You have to love animals to do this job."

Perkins and her partner, Sara Spensieri, said they are sure the cat got stuck while chasing a rabbit into the pipe. But they didn't know that the rabbit in question was still in the pipe with the cat until Perkins was driving to the Humane Society.

"We were driving ... and I see this thing flying around the back," Perkins said.

The rabbit jumped out of the vehicle at the Humane Society and ran off -- escaping both the cat and the pipe.

Original Post by Heath Urie on 23/03/2011 dailycamera