Not long ago, the staff at a school in Northern California, USA, heard strange noises coming from the ceiling in one of their classrooms. They knew immediately that it was coming from the ventilation duct – and when they paid attention, they knew it was the sound of a cat’s squeak. Everyone in the office immediately decided to save the poor creatureS that were stuck in the pipe.

“On a Tuesday, we heard sounds coming from the vents, and we were able to see some kittens on the roof by the air conditioning unit,” Jeremiah Jones, one of the school counselors, told The Dodo. “The maintenance staff set a trap to try to trap them, and were able to trap the mom Wednesday morning, but not the kittens, so they let the mom go so she could try to stay with them.”

With the help of mechanics, they managed to get three small kittens out of the pipe. However, a while after the rescue, the staff continued to hear meowing. They climbed up there themselves and pulled out two more kittens. Finally, all the little ones were out.

The babies were very hungry and squeaked loudly. The staff provided them food and water and reunited them with their mother the next day. The feline family was reported to local shelters, and they would soon find a home for them.

“The counseling staff and a student office aide were in disbelief as our awesome campus maintenance man, Jake, was able to locate them and cut them out of the ceiling,” Jones said. “The kittens seemed hungry and were crying out as they were rescued.”