TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A pet cat named “Ouni” (歐膩) is the last of five cats that were trapped in a building heavily damaged by the April 3 earthquake who is still on the loose.
The powerful quake caused the “Uranus Building” on Xuanyuan Road in Hualien to tilt precariously and the county government began demolishing it on April 5. Work has been sporadically paused in an attempt to rescue five pet cats trapped inside, with “Ouni” the only cat still known to be alive but not yet returned to its owner, reported TTV News.
The main structure of the building has been completely demolished, and it is expected that resurfacing will take place on Friday (April 19).
Meanwhile, the public is following the tail of a black and white cat named Ouni, which belongs to a woman surnamed Lu 陸) on the 5th floor of what was the Uranus Building. Ouni reappeared on Tuesday night (April 16), and workers attempted to capture it with a net, but the feline was frightened and darted down a storm drain.
In response, the owner and volunteer groups set up cages inside and outside the storm drain and consulted sewer maps to expedite the rescue process.
During the search process a stray tabby cat dubbed by residents as “Ahu” (阿虎) appeared to try to help find Ouni by entering the sewer, reported ETtoday. However, it has thus far been caught in the cages three times, leading to false alarms that Ouni had been found.