Lola, a cat who vanished while her family moved out of a Long Island flat, has been pulled safely from the wall where she had become trapped.
The Associated Press reported that Lola disappeared beneath a floorboard in the family’s second-floor home in Franklin Square. Animal rescuer John DeBacker and his team set food, a trap and cameras, but Lola avoided the trap during her night-time appearances.
Then she stopped appearing. The team discovered that she had fallen into the space behind a first-floor wall, where DeBacker said she spent about five days trapped, probably upside down.
On 18 September, a contractor helped the rescuers cut an opening in the wall. They first used an electric saw, then changed to a quieter drill when an endoscopic camera showed that Lola was frightened. DeBacker reached through the opening, found her hind legs and drew her out backwards into a waiting crate.
Lola went to an emergency vet and is now back with her family. The happy ending still comes with a job in progress: the AP reported that she had eaten insulation, had a poor appetite and was continuing to receive veterinary care.
DeBacker’s practical advice for anyone moving house was to secure the cat before the moving begins.
Source: Associated Press reporting by Hallie Golden, published by WRAL, 24 September 2026; checked 25 September 2026. The rescue took place on 18 September. Details of Lola’s veterinary care are limited to the rescuer’s account reported by the AP.