WATCH: Philadelphia food influencer, family rescue kitten stuck in pipe

By CBS News Philadelphia Staff

June 6, 2023 / 1:49 PM / CBS Philadelphia

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- The cat distribution system works in mysterious ways. For one Philadelphia influencer, it was a bit of a scary situation.

Video from Kass Whisler, @phillyfoodgirl on TikTok shows a group of people rescuing a kitten that was trapped in a pipe.

In a viral TikTok that was also posted on Instagram, Whisler shows how her family rescued the kitten by using clippers and sharp tools to rip open a pipe and get him of the bottom.

Other videos on her TikTok account show an opening to the pipe outside their home behind the air conditioning unit.

From outside, the kitten could be heard meowing from the pipe - which leads to an old furnace that is no longer in use - that led into the home.

In another TikTok, they coax the mother cat and one of the kittens are coaxed out of the pipe with "pspsps" noises and treats.

"Is this real life right now? Is this real freakin life right now? My God."

Murph was the only one that needed to be rescued.

After getting out, they fed the kitten - a rare male calico.

"Apparently he's the exception to the rule with a lot of the things... how he got in and everything else," Whisler said in another TikTok replying to some of the most common comments. "He's definitely a boy, he got checked twice because I asked. They explained how they knew, which, you can Google it."

Since the kitten was found on Memorial Day Weekend and Kass' husband is a vet, the kitten has been named Murph - in honor of Michael Murphy, a Navy SEAL killed in Afghanistan in 2005. And they figured his middle initial should be D (because of MDW) so they gave him the middle name Danger,

Commenters were suggesting the kitten be named Mario or Luigi since he came out of a pipe in the ground.

The family is now fostering Murph and he seems to be enjoying his new home.

The CBS News Philadelphia Staff is a group of experienced journalists who bring you the content on CBSPhiladelphia.com.

First published on June 6, 2023 / 1:49 PM