Curiosity may have killed that cat, but fortunately that was not the fate of an Oamaru child who got his head and arm stuck in a cat door yesterday morning.
Two appliances from the Oamaru Volunteer Fire Brigade were called to an Ardgowan Rd address about 8.15am after the 18-month-old boy became lodged in the small door's frame.
The boy's mother, Tina Gosney, said he became stuck when he put his toy watering can through the cat door, then tried to crawl through to retrieve it.
"He was just a bit curious obviously. He's thought 'I'll out this through here and oops I can't reach it so I'll go and get it'. But no, that's not going to work when you put your head and arm through the hole.''
Mrs Gosney, who did not want her son named, tried to free him herself, before she enlisted the help of emergency services.
"I just didn't have enough hands. If I had four hands I would have been all right.''
The boy was freed without incident and was not injured.
While he is sure to continue playing with his watering can, sticking it through the cat door will not be an option from now on.
"We've locked the cat flap that we didn't know was open. Hopefully he doesn't do it again.
"He'll probably try and do it again next week to see if he has better success.''
