Hyannis Firefighters Rescue Cat Trapped Inside Wall

HYANNIS, MA — Firefighters rescued a cat after it got stuck inside a wall at its owner's apartment. Fire officials were called to an apartment on Bacon Terrace around 10 a.m. Thursday after the owner tried several times to lure her cat Phoebe out of the 5-to-6-inch void space.

Fire officials said that under most circumstances, a cat that goes into a void space will eventually make its way out on its own, but this time Pheobe couldn't. Capt. Jeffrey Huska said the rescue required patience. It took the crew 45 minutes to get the cat out of the wall.

"It kept going deeper and deeper into the partition of the wall and it couldn't turn around and come down," Huska said. "We thought we had it from one side, but it ended up going deeper and deeper."

Fire officials said that as Phoebe's anxiety grew, she started working her way farther up the void. Huska said the owner was worried because she has son with special needs, and Pheobe is very important to him.

"He was at school, but it made us work even harder to get her out," Huska told Patch.

As the cat moved further into the wall, fire officials needed to switch tactics. Huska said he and the other firefighters cut an inspection hole in a closet in the hallway between the owner and her neighbor's apartment. Then fire officials had to cut into the sheet rock.

Fire officials said they worked cautiously not to further distress Pheobe and were able to free her with minimal damage to the wall. Huska said the cat seemed fine after it was freed and wasn't injured.