New Homeowner Discovers Previous Owners’ Cat Living in the Walls

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Very recently, an English homeowner found something very unexpected living inside the walls of his new home. For those who are curious, Glyn Stafford had been told by the previous homeowners that their cat had gone missing just a short while ago. As a result, he set out some food as well as some milk to see if the cat would show up, which produced no results. However, Stafford was very surprised when he heard the sound of meowing coming from his kitchen ceiling one day. He investigated, which revealed the cat stuck inside the walls. Stafford proceeded to call the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. Soon enough, firefighters pulled up the floorboards of the bathroom to rescue the cat, which was carried out with Stafford’s agreement. Fortunately, the cat seems to have come through the ordeal in good condition, though she was rather thin for obvious reasons. It still isn’t clear how she managed to get inside the walls. However, it is believed that the cat crawled through a kitchen pipe before becoming unable to find the way out. In any case, she has now been rescued, with the expectation that she will be reunited with her owners.

How Does This Kind of Thing Happen?

This particular incident ended well. However, this kind of thing isn’t unusual. After all, cats are famous for their sense of curiosity, so much so that it has managed to become proverbial. Having said that, it is important to note that the proverb is rather misleading. Curiosity has been known to get cats into serious trouble. For proof, look no further than this particular incident. Still, curiosity has been very beneficial for the survival of cats as a species. For starters, cats can show their curiosity in a number of ways. For example, they might spend a lot of time examining nooks and crannies. Similarly, they might spend a lot of time watching humans as well as other occupants of the same household while situated in a high-up location. In every single case, these behaviors can be connected to courses of action that are beneficial for a cat’s survival out in the wild.

Consider cats’ fondness for examining nooks and crannies. One way that this can help them out would be their hunting habits. There are some predators that hunt down a big prey animal before settling down for a prolonged period of time. However, cats aren’t one of those species. Instead, cats hunt on a constant basis, which makes sense because cats eat smaller creatures such as rodents, small birds, and small lizards out in the wild. These prey animal like to hide out in nooks and crannies, thus making examining these places a good way for cats to find themselves a convenient meal. Simultaneously, it is important to remember that cats aren’t apex predators but rather predators that can be predated upon by bigger, more powerful animals. As such, they need to have a good understanding of the nooks and crannies that can be found in their territories because a good hiding spot can make the difference between life and death for them. This is particularly true because cats need to avoid potential threats to their physical function for much the same reason as other predators. Essentially, their chances of a success hunt are good when they are doing well but plummet when they are injured, which is the kind of thing that can send them into a downward spiral if they are further weakened by hunger. Thanks to that, hiding is definitely their preferred strategy when compared with actually fighting it out against a predator with very uncertain results.

Similarly, cats positioning themselves in high-up locations also contribute to their survival in the wild. First, it provides them with a much better view of their surroundings than otherwise possible. Something that is very useful for helping them spot predators as well as prey animals. Second, being high-up is a form of protection on its own. There are some predators that can get at cats even when they are situated in high-up locations. However, there are plenty of other predators that cannot, thus making it one more tool in a cat’s survival repertoire. Regardless, curiosity can sometimes get cats into serious trouble. Simply put, not every single cat has a good understanding of every single situation every single time. As such, it is very much possible for them to put themselves in a situation from which they cannot escape because of either inaccurate information or incomplete information. On top of that, cats don’t act in a perfectly rational manner 100 percent of the time anymore than humans do, so it is very much possible for them to get into trouble because they have made a bad choice. This time, everything worked out relatively well. Unfortunately, there are plenty of other incidents that do not.

What Can People Do to Prevent This Kind of Thing From Happening?

Cat owners can’t remove their cats’ sense of curiosity. If anything, such efforts are likely to be extremely damaging, thus making them a very bad idea. Instead, the better option would be cat-proofing a home for the purpose of minimizing potential complications. The exact process includes steps that are both numerous and wide-ranging in nature. For instance, interested individuals should eliminate every single loose item that they can find. If they see wires, they should tape the wires down. Similarly, if they see dangling cords, they should store those away lest a curious cat brings the device attached to those dangling cords down upon itself. Moving on, interested individuals should also remove potentially dangerous plants as well as potentially dangerous chemicals. If they can’t, they should do their best to make sure that these things are stored in places that a cat cannot reach, which mean lids, locks, and other security measures. Be warned that cats are quite good at getting into places where they shouldn’t be even when those places are high-up, which is why it is important to be thorough in these matters. Other examples include but are not limited to locking screens, covering up pipes, warning cats away from hot spots that can be dangerous to them, checking machines for the presence of cats before using them, and buying cat-proof furniture.