Rocky readers are rushing to the rescue.

After this week's story on Freddy — the determined feline who refuses to vacate his hiding spot in the plumbing beneath the bathtub of Tonya Payne's Wheat Ridge rental property — e-mails and phone calls have flooded in from concerned readers offering innovative ideas for coaxing the cat out.

Leslie Phillips of Arvada suggested leaving out "sticky pads" that are sometimes used to catch rodents, stressing the importance of buying the humane variety.

Jim Harvey of Fort Myers Beach, Fla., said, "Put a bunch of mothballs underneath there ... don't be skimpy with them. That'll do the job," adding that cats, skunks and squirrels can't stand the smell.

Another reader said that playing rap music or Yoko Ono tunes for an hour would surely send Freddy running.

Sheri Truesdale of Denver offered advice in her e-mail, "Maybe they ought to give it a day or so. The poor cat is probably scared to death ... Eventually it will come out but you have to be patient and gentle."

Other solutions ranged from calling in Freddy's previous owner to spraying him with water to running a noisy vacuum.

Payne hopes one of these ideas will work.

She said Freddy did leave his 5-foot-deep sanctuary last night to eat and take care of business, but somehow failed to trip the third trapdoors neighbors have set.

"I thought I was desperate yesterday," she said. "This is amazing."

At noon today, a borrowed female cat was keeping Freddy company from a cage just outside his narrow exit point. Stay tuned to see if she's got what it takes to lure the elusive Freddy out.

In the meantime, feel free to e-mail Tonya Payne your suggestions at mouthfuls@worldnet.att.net, or leave a comment in the box above.

craigk@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-5618