My cat is inside my neighbour’s wall cavity

[SerenityNowInsanityLater]

So, we’re presently a wrecking ball of anxiety and sadness as my kids and I wait to find out if we’ll ever hold our cat again.

He went out, two nights ago, at 2am. I’d been up preparing for a hearing (divorce). He was sitting at the back door, always an indication that he needs to go out. He’s out every night and home by 7am, sleeping on a patio chair.

He didn’t come home. Didn’t think much of it. Attended hearing (5 hours) and around 2pm asked my kids if they’d seen Gus. They hadn’t. DD had mentioned that she was aware that he hadn’t come to her room for daily snoozy snuggles.

I put out an alert on neighborhood watch and it turns out, he’d wandered into my neighbour’s house and looked utterly terrified to be there. She sent photos her painter had taken of my cat (homeowner was at work). They are having building works. Apparently he was hiding underneath a table, the painter tried to coax him out and grabbed him. The cat got totally spooked and they are pretty sure he ran into an opening of a newly built/plastered basement wall and climbed inside the cavity, they ‘think’. Their last sighting of him was in the wall’s opening climbing an electric cable. It’s all so grim.

I’ve gone over with food, talking to him, tapping, calling for him, chatting to him. I can see into the wall’s cavity. It’s an incredibly tight squeeze and this immediately scared me. The space is limited and the neighbour’s father in law built the wall and explained that the cat wouldn’t have much space to explore as it’s very limited and extremely tight.

There’s been no sound. Nothing. I heard nothing. Nobody’s heard a thing. Food has gone untouched. Fire Brigade has visited twice with thermal cameras and they’ve detected nothing both times (the space however is full of beams, cables, and insulation which could inhibit detection). RSPCA said I’ve basically done all that I can.

What more can be done? What’s crazy is he’s such a timid cat. None of the neighbours really know him because, although he wanders, he’s not the Six Dinner Sid our ginger cat is, visiting all and sundry like relatives at Christmas. Our little timid boy isn’t like that. He is extremely shy of humans. He looked absolutely terrified in the photos the painter shared. I hate to think the worst.

But what now, 38 hours on? 😢

Oh that's a shame

Look on local Facebook for missing cat and dog groups where people specialise in helping find missing animals. You may be able to borrow a trap that you place food in and the trap closes. Obviously left in the house not outdoors!

This 👆

I just really find it hard fo believe that Gus would have gone very far into such a tight cavity. Even is he was afraid. Cats are highly intelligent. If he FELL in, that would be different. But climbing a cable in a tight cavity? I reckon he got spooked and has taken refuge somewhere else.

He may not be very far away. My cat went AWOL for 4 days once. I suspect she was hiding in a nearby tree most of that time.

Keep putting food out, keep walking around, keep checking the neighbours house and keep calling for him. They tend to reappear when things are quiet so leave the back door open until you go to bed.

GOOD LUCK!

I am stressed reading this. I can’t imagine how stressful this must be for you (and your neighbour). I really hope he turns up soon

Our cat went missing a few months ago , at the time we were having building work done with a hole in the wall and I convinced myself that he had gone in to the wall cavity and got stuck
I was beside myself , he was missing for three days and I had literally planned to sell the house as couldn't bear to live there any more
Then he strolled back in through the cat flap in the middle of the night !
My plan had been to hire a heat seeking camera . I asked on a local Facebook page and had located one that I was collecting the following day , might that be a possibility?

Fire brigade have been twice, with thermal cameras.

My old cat got locked in a nearby businesses workshop over a bank holiday weekend once. She was thirst and hungry when I got her back, but fine after a few days.

The likelihood that he has died is really quite slim. When a cat gets scared it will run off to a place of safety. It would have realised the wall cavity wasn't safe and run further away to hide. Maybe in a shed, in undergrowth or a crawl space somewhere not in your house.
In distress my cat has disappeared for three days and returned. A bit dishevelled looking but fine. This has happened with three different cats.
He will almost certainly show up somewhere in the neighbourhood. Is he chipped?

Could you use a drain inspection camera to see if the cat is still in there? How feasible is it to pull the wall down and you cover the costs for the rebuild and decorate?

Endoscopic camera's are available on amazon?

I wonder if you can find a way to lure him out using his prey drive

Do you only have the builders word that the cat went in there?

Seeing as the fireman can't find him and he has t come out when you have called it's entirely possible that the builder has fabricated the story or missed seeing the cat run back out.

His coils have ran out and jumped into their van and jumped out the other end. There are many possibilities as to what has happened.

I cant see how your cat is in the cavity if the thermal detection equipment didn't find it. yes there's insulation and other things, but it's a cavity wall, a cat can barely fit in there let alone get itself behind some insulation.

Although they will at times go under something to hide or explore, many animals that can climb do just that. The cat up the tree trope is not without foundation. Your cat might make it up to the roof space. Listening for activity overhead and sticking a head up a roof hatch might be worthwhile.

Does he have a litter tray? I'd try leaving some of his used litter where the entrance to the cavity is. If not then something that smells like you might draw him out. Same with outside your house in case he's not in the wall.

This. I’d ask them to take part of the wall down but you’d have to reimburse them for the cost of doing it.

You need a drain guy, they have incredible long and bendy cameras. Ask on your local Facebook, I bet ones a cat lover and will come help!

It's not possible, it would take too long to take a cavity wall down, and you couldn't do it without harming the cat.

Aw poor thing and you. Have you tried the strongest cat nip and maybe spray it up? Don't give up hope yet, they have 9 lives so are good at hiding and dealing with situations. Xx

Cats are good at getting out of places they don't feel comfortable in. As he was spooked, is there any chance that he has gone and hidden somewhere else in the neighbourhood, maybe somewhere quiet like a neighbour's garden shed or garage? Can you put out an alert on a neighbourhood Facebook page, or do posters with his photo? Maybe local radio. Hope he comes home soon, poor thing.

This. Then if he’s in there the wall can came down to get him out.

I am so sorry this has happened, my stomach is sinking just reading this. My cat has done this before and I was absolutely beside myself. The only thing that lured him out was a toy that jingles. Not sure why he just goes feral for the one particular toy. Try his fave toy or something jingly or crinkley. When he gets stuck under the bed, my lazer pen (and a tonne of patience) does the trick.

Yes a laser pen good idea

Whenever our indoor ragdoll cats got out and were hiding terrified somewhere - the only way we could get the missing cat to meow so we could locate them was to bring the other cat out with us. I don’t know why but when the 2nd cat meowed the missing cat would always reply - even though they wouldn’t respond to our calls.