A cat has been rescued, after six weeks of efforts, from within the walls of a shop in Galway where she had been trapped.
The young feline became stuck in the walls of the shop, Dealz, in Athenry, and she has now been named after the retailer.
Public concerns arose when they heard distressing noises coming from inside the structure of the building.
For a number of weeks, attempts to rescue the cat were unsuccessful but, on Wednesday, the Galway SPCA and a maintenance crew from Dealz came together in a group effort to free the cat from the narrow corner shaft at the back of the shop she had been tucked in to.
The cat became more distressed as time went on and had been using the support beams to move between the walls.
The maintenance crew accessed the roof and from there the team sealed the top while she was inside the shaft to prevent the cat from escaping further into the building. They then opened a section at the base to allow them entry where they set a humane trap.
However, Dealz was still not willing to come out from her hiding place and, in the end, the team had to go in and retrieve her.
After arriving at the cattery under the care of Galway SPCA, she weighed only 1.2kg and at six months old she is barely a third of what she should weigh. Her paws were also damaged and sore.
Tara Croke from the Galway SPCA told The Irish Times that Dealz is now “doing good”.
“She is a very sweet cat, she is eating well and is putting on weight slowly,” Ms Croke added.
In a post on Instagram, the Galway SPCA thanked the team at Dealz, the staff, management and maintenance crew for “co-ordinating access, providing equipment and saving her life”.
