Rescuers dismantled a dry stone wall in County Durham to free a cat who was trapped inside.
An RSPCA rescuer was called to a field in Tow Law, near Bishop Auckland, on 23 January by a dog walker whose pet found the black and white cat wedged in a small gap in a dry stone wall.
Inspector Ruth Thomas-Coxon said: āIt was an unusual call-out and the poor puss was very frightened and a little aggressive.
āInitially it looked as though heād chosen to tuck himself inside the gap but he didnāt try to run away when we got closer so I was concerned he may have been injured or sick.
āThe owner of the paddocks, and wall, came out and between us we removed some of the stones to dismantle the top part of the wall and free the cat. He made a dash for it and jumped into another part of the wall where we were able to catch him.ā
Ruth left the owner to re-build the wall and took the puss, now nicknamed Freddy, to the vets.
āVets found he was in fairly good health although he had some matts in his coat which they removed,ā she said. āHe was a sweet, friendly cat so I wondered if he was a missing pet but he was not microchipped. I made some enquiries nearby, put up a poster where we rescued him and also put his profile on PetsLocated but, unfortunately, heās not yet been claimed.
āHeās being looked after at a local cattery and if no one comes forward for him then weāll find him a new home.ā
If you recognise Freddy please contact the RSPCAās appeal line on 0300 123 8018.