15-05-2025
'Our cat was lost - then next door's floor meowed'
Ms Cooper and her 83-year-old father had been in contact with the "lovely and supportive" neighbours throughout their hunt for Leia, and they got in touch to say they thought they could hear cat noises, as first reported by Kent Online.
After cutting a hole in the new flooring, they found Leia looking back at them.
It is thought the cat crawled under the floor unnoticed during renovation work at the house.
"You can imagine what followed - we were beside ourselves," Ms Cooper said.
They also found an open can of beer in the hole, and believe the cat survived on this or another unknown source of water.
"It's a bit of a mystery," Ms Cooper said, "but perhaps she did drink that beer. She certainly seemed pretty dozy when I picked her up."
Ms Cooper leafleted the area and hired a 'pet detective' to try to find the cat.
She said the neighbours probably could not hear Leia until then as "there's been so much noise going on" from the works.
