A shocked couple found they were sharing their home with a stray cat and her FOUR kittens after firemen dismantled their floor and wall.
Puzzled Sue and Brian Davie called the RSPCA when they heard miaowing echoing around their bungalow.
They found a stray cat shivering in their loft – but the crying was still continuing around the house in Frinton, Essex.
The next day the couple summoned the fire brigade who fed a snake-eye camera under the floorboards where they found a kitten trapped.
The tiny animal was rescued but the meowing carried on – until firefighters removed bricks from the lounge wall and found another three kittens stuck in the cavity.
Sue and Brian, 67, who are caretakers at a community leisure centre, believe the mother crept into their loft to have her litter before the kittens fell through holes in the ceiling.
Sue, 53, said: “It was weird. I was just sitting having a coffee on Friday night and I heard noises coming from the loft.
“Me and Brian went up and checked but we could only see the cat. We phoned the RSPCA and they came round the next day.
“We still couldn’t find the kittens and then the firefighters were called in and we found them scattered around the house.
“One was under the floorboards and then another three were found in the wall.
“We have a dog called Roxy and she wasn’t too happy about having cats in the house.
“It was a strange feeling knowing that there were cats in our walls and we had no idea how to get them out.
“Apparently the mum had been climbing from our neighbours’ roof to ours and then she had found a way into the loft.”
Sue added: “I must say the fire brigade did an absolutely brilliant job.
“They were working on getting the cats out for about five hours, maybe even longer.
“Two of them are going to take the kittens in when they are older.
“The mum is going to be rehomed as well which is nice because she was a stray beforehand.”
The kittens have been reunited with their mother and taken into the care of the RSPCA.
Paul Nash of Essex Fire Service said: “A stray cat had got into the loft of the bungalow and had a litter.
“The kittens had some how managed to drop down one-by-one from a hole in the loft and gone into the cavity wall and then got underneath the floorboards.
“The occupants of the bungalow were extremely grateful for all our efforts.
“Two of the firefighters involved in the rescue have put their names down to rehome two of the litter when they are ready to leave their mum.”
