10/22/2026
Update on the Amazon storm drain kitten in Modesto! We’re happy to share that the kitty has been successfully rescued thanks to the help of a City of Modesto Wastewater Treatment employee, who came out to assist local rescuers Taylor Wolfley, Melanie Wolfley and a local couple with accessing the storm drain.
We’re incredibly grateful to the city employee for taking the time to help and to the citizens for being there to help get this kitty to safety. It takes teamwork and community support to make rescues like this possible, and we appreciate everyone who helped make it happen.
Original: A local resident recently contacted V.A.R.S. about a kitten reportedly trapped in a storm drain at the Amazon warehouse on Kiernan in Modesto, near the employee entrance.
This morning, our volunteers went out to investigate the situation. These volunteers have regular jobs and other responsibilities, and they took time out of their workday, risking reprimand from their employers, to help us get eyes on this situation and determine what could be done to help this kitten.
Our volunteers were able to locate the storm drain, but unfortunately, they were unable to see or hear the kitten during their visit. At this time, we cannot confirm whether the kitten is still inside.
We would like to place a humane trap to help determine whether the kitten is still in the drain and hopefully bring them to safety. However, we do not currently have a volunteer available to monitor the trap throughout the day. With the possibility of rainfall looming, even though rain is not forecast until the evening, we also have to consider the safety of leaving a trap in place without someone available to check on it.
We are currently working on a game plan to get a volunteer back out to the location who can place and periodically monitor a trap. We want to approach this situation responsibly while doing everything we can to help the kitten if they are still there.
We will share updates as we learn more. In the meantime, we want to recognize our volunteers, who continue to sacrifice their own time and take risks at their regular jobs because they care about helping animals in need. Their dedication is what makes this work possible.
V.A.R.S. is a volunteer run, donation funded nonprofit providing animal retrieval services at no charge to residents within our service area.
