The RSPCA has rescued an intrepid feline who had been exploring an empty house on the street where she lives – before the property was boarded up and she sadly became stuck inside.
Felix, a four-year-old female, black and white cat, had been missing from her Hartlepool home for 10 days before her owner, Joanne Keir, heard a familiar cry. She followed the sound to an abandoned house three doors down which was boarded up – and in the top window, she saw her missing cat!
She said: “Felix must have been exploring inside the house and they boarded it up not realising she was inside. She’d been missing for 10 days at this point and I just couldn’t believe it when I spotted her. I’d stopped eating, I was so stressed about her.
“I phoned the RSPCA as my last hope as I’d stopped hearing her cries and I was so worried about her. I’d be lost without Felix. It was a hard 10 days but I have her back now, that’s all that matters.”
RSPCA inspector Steph Baines gained access to the derelict property in Furness Street, Hartlepool, on Monday 12 February via the police and was able to set a cat trap with some food inside to try and coax the cat out – but Felix initially had other ideas!
Joanne added: “Felix was just so crafty – she worked out how to nick the meat from the trap and then dash out of the cat catcher in time so the food was gone but there was no sign of Felix. The RSPCA officer, Steph, had the patience of a saint!”
It is believed Felix was living under a gap in the floorboards and is thought to have been eating dead pigeons to survive.
Steph returned to the house to check the trap multiple times over the next few days even trying a different, more sensitive trap before finally managing to catch and reunite the intrepid feline with her worried owner on Thursday 15 February.
Steph said: “As the house was derelict, there were lots of hiding places and we believe she was spending most of her time in the back bedroom hiding under the floorboards. After setting a trap and checking it for days we eventually caught her. Apart from being very hungry and dirty, she was otherwise fine and glad to be home.
“As we all strive to create a better world for every animal, happy endings like this really are the best part of the job!”
Her grateful owner, Joanne, explained that Felix has settled in very well back at home with their three other cats and one dog.
She added: “She rules the roost here. It’s as though she’s never been away. I don’t know what I would have done if it wasn’t for the RSPCA. I honestly don’t think we would have got her back without them.”
Joanne runs the Race for Life every year for Cancer Research UK in memory of her partner – but this year she will also be raising money to help the RSPCA as a thank-you to the charity for rescuing Felix.
For more information on how you can donate to the RSPCA visit: www.rspca.org.uk/give
