A kitten that fell out of a seventh-floor flat in Punggol landed on the sixth-floor air conditioner ledge and got stuck — leading to a dramatic rescue by a man who had to climb out of the fifth-floor unit's window to get to the stranded animal above.

This turn of events on Saturday afternoon, Apr. 6, at Block 654A Punggol Drive was reported by Shin Min Daily News.

The rescuer did not use a harness.

Occupant of sixth-floor unit not home

A 47-year-old resident living in the next Housing and Development Board (HDB) block saw residents messaging one another in a group chat about hearing the constant meowing of a cat but were unable to locate the animal.

It was then discovered that the meowing was from a kitten trapped on the ledge outside a sixth-floor unit.

Some residents then contacted the authorities in an attempt to notify the owner of the unit.

However, they then found that the flat's occupant was abroad and no one was at home.

Attempted to use basket to rescue cat

By the afternoon, residents started worrying that the kitten might fall off the ledge.

According to a video provided by the resident who tipped Shin Min off, an attempt to save the cat was made by lowering a plastic basket with a rope to hoist the cat to safety.

But the attempt failed.

A different method of rescue was then thought up.

Man climbs out of fifth-floor unit

A man was then seen climbing out of the fifth-floor unit's window to reach the cat above.

This was made possible because the occupant of the fifth-floor unit happened to be home at that time and allowed the man to go inside.

A woman who occupied the fifth-floor unit told Shin Min that she was taking care of her child at about 1 pm when she was approached for help.

The rescuer first stood on the railing, grabbed the edge of the window with one hand, and reached out to the sixth-floor ledge with the other hand.

He was seen balancing on the railing while holding on to the ledge above.

After about 46 seconds later, he succeeded in retrieving the kitten with one hand before climbing back to safety.

Actions praised

His actions were praised by fellow residents.

This was after photos of his rescue effort were shared in the group chat.

However, in hindsight, the woman who tipped the Chinese media off said the man's actions were brave but dangerous.

Cat owner doesn't know who took kitten

When contacted by Shin Min, the cat's owner, Salina (transliteration), a 51-year-old woman, said she had no knowledge that a person had rescued her cat and was surprised when she saw the video.

The cat owner lives on the seventh floor of the block.

She said the mother cat had just given birth to five kittens in March.

The kittens are kept in a cat cage on the kitchen balcony, but one of them managed to escape and fall down to the sixth-floor ledge.

Salina said the cat must have escaped through a gap in the window.

Saw kitten had fallen

She added that she saw the kitten on the ledge on the sixth floor, but as she was rushing to work that day, she asked her daughter to go downstairs to find the neighbour to try to save the cat.

However, her daughter said no one answered the door.

When Salina came home from work, she discovered the kitten was no longer on the ledge.

Salina said: "I thought it was dead and I couldn't find it when I went downstairs to look for it. I didn't expect it to be rescued by my neighbours. I'm very grateful to them."

According to the resident who tipped Shin Min off, the kitten was brought home by the rescuer who bathed and fed it.

Salina said she is unsure who had taken the kitten, but is open to letting the man adopt it.

She also said she will put the other four kittens up for adoption once they have been weaned from their mother.

The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Singapore (SPCA) told Shin Min it was notified of a stranded cat at 10:45am.

As SPCA did not have the appropriate equipment to carry out the rescue, the person who asked for help was directed to other agencies to seek assistance while being told to reach out to the occupant of the sixth-floor unit.

When both approaches failed, SPCA dispatched personnel to the scene, but the kitten was already rescued.

Top photo via Shin Min Daily News