A North Shore kitten is down to eight lives after spending two nights stuck in a drain pipe.
Bree Wesselink said her family's seven-month-old kitten Purdy went missing on Tuesday night.
For nearly two days the family could hear him meow, but could not find him.
"It was awful, we could just hear his meow," Wesselink said.
"We felt terrible, helpless knowing that he was stuck somewhere. We were all crying."
Her mother had found Purdy on the side of a road at four weeks old.
She was particularly upset when he went missing, Wesselink said.
"She was talking to him through the night, trying to calm him."
On Wednesday, Wesselink, her family and some kind neighbours spent most of the day hunting around the house, following his meow.
They thought he might have been stuck in the roof, so they took some of the tiles off and had a look, but he wasn't there.
They then thought he could be in the wall, so Wesselink rang her friend Corin Revell, who works for construction company Canam.
"I started cutting holes into the walls and ceiling, making an absolute mess," Revell said.
"But he wasn't there either."
Then as they were searching around outside Revell noticed the drainpipe leading down from the roof.
"I asked Bree if Purdy spent much time on the roof, and she said he went up there all of the time. I was like, 'I can guarantee you he has fallen into the drainpipe'."
So they grabbed a hose and fed it down the 90mm diameter PVC pipe, to see if they could touch Purdy.
"Because of the echo it sounded like he was really close to the entrance, but he was actually about 18 metres away."
They turned the hose on briefly and immediately heard a loud meow.
This was about 10pm last night, and they could not find any drain technicians to come and rescue him. The Birkenhead Fire Brigade came to assist but could not reach him.
This morning the team at Drain Ninjas came to the rescue.
They found Purdy stuck in the stormwater system using a CCTV camera, and managed to guide him towards a drain grate by the street.
There the crew were able to reach into the drain and pull him out.
Drain technician Troy Gorst said it was really lucky the drain was empty and that it hadn't rained.
"He was looking straight up the downpipe, so if it rained he would have drowned."
Gorst said they offered to do the job for free, but the family shouted them all some lunch.
"It was a pretty feel good job. The family were so stoked."
It was not uncommon to find animals stuck in drains, Gorst said.
"We do find cats occasionally stuck in drains. We have also found possums and hedgehogs too."
Wesselink said Purdy was in pretty good condition given the ordeal.
"He was a bit shaken and scared, but he was dry, just had some wet paws.
"We are all just so happy and grateful to Drain Ninjas and everyone for helping out."
Hawke's Bay hosts Christmas lunches for those seeking company and support.