A hapless cat has certainly used up one of her nine lives after getting stuck in a wall cavity for three weeks.
Molly the cat managed to squeeze through a waste pipe in the kitchen and firmly wedged herself between the internal walls.
Her owners were moving out of the property in Glossop, Derbyshire, last month, and became worried when they couldn’t find her.
They assumed she was hiding due to the upheaval of the move, so returned to the house every day for a week to leave food out.
When new homeowner Glyn Stafford moved in, he also began leaving food and milk out to entice Molly from her hiding place.
They eventually assumed Molly had run off, but some three weeks after she first disappeared, Glyn heard a meowing sound from the kitchen.
He realised Molly was stuck in the wall cavity above the kitchen ceiling, and contacted the RSPCA.
Inspector Jenny Bethel came round and shone her torch into the gap and Molly was finally found.
But there was no way of getting her out safely without the help of Derbyshire Fire and Rescue.
The firefighters removed some floorboards in the bathroom above the kitchen and Molly was finally grabbed from under the bath.
Jenny said: ‘She must have been terrified spending all that time trapped in such a tight spot.
‘She looked quite skinny so I took her to a local vet and fortunately she was found to be healthy but in need of feeding up.’
Glyn added: ‘I was quite surprised when I heard the meow after all that time and called the RSPCA straight away.
‘I have had cats myself so I really wanted her to get out and be safe.
‘The floorboards had to come up to get her but the damage can be repaired. The cat’s life is what mattered.
‘The RSPCA and fire service did a great job and I was so relieved to see Molly looking so well.’
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
For more stories like this, check our news page.
