Cat in dramatic rescue from Rotherham reservoir

A cat faced its fear of water by taking a plunge in a reservoir - to chase birds

The snaps, taken by photographer Geoff Eagle, aged 69, show the soggy moggy swimming alongside a gaggle of geese and swans before being dragged out of the reservoir by park rangers.

Geoff, who runs his own photography business, managed to capture the feline’s exploits in the water at Thrybergh Country Park in Rotherham.

A cat faced its fear of water by taking a plunge in a reservoir

He said: “I live near the park and I go round the park once or twice a week. I always have my little digital camera with me when I go out for a walk in case I see something.”

“I went for a walk around the park with my friend, Jean, at around 2pm and we had just stopped for an ice cream.

“We were sitting outside the cafe watching the birds, when suddenly a big flock of 100 or so pigeons, around 20 or 30 swans, 20 Canada geese and an assortment of ducks took to the air and the water.

“Then we saw the cat come down the slipway towards the water and instead of stopping at the edge it jumped in.

“I was amazed to see it happen. I have never seen anything like it before.

“To see this tiny little cat chasing these swans and Canada geese was amazing.

“I’ve been going to the park for more than 20 years and I have never seen a cat before let alone a cat swimming before. I thought they were scared of water.

“The birds instead of leaving it alone all surrounded it and they followed it wherever it went across the reservoir.

“They must have felt braver in the water than they did on land. The cat didn’t really know what it was doing it, it just was just swimming around.

“I think it got disorientated because it was surrounded by all the birds.

“After about 20 or 25 minutes we decided to call the rangers because we realised if we left it the cat wouldn’t survive.”

The rangers boarded a rowing boat and managed to drag the cat out of the water.

Granddad-of-five Geoff said: “It was really bedraggled by the time it came out of the reservoir and the water is really cold this time of year.

“You could see it using up all its energy trying to keep afloat while the swans and the geese were just gliding along.

“When I show people the pictures they first think it is an otter or a dog, they don’t believe that it is a cat.”