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A PURRFECT ENDING: Indiana woman reunited with missing cat as it meows inside sealed wall erected days ago

Ashlin Hadden had hired a contractor to refurbish her home's bathroom before she left for a work trip and when she returned her cat was missing

NOBLESVILLE, INDIANA: A horrific construction blunder left Ashlin Hadden's cat trapped within a bathroom wall. Hadden, a resident of Noblesville, Indiana, intended to take a peaceful bath after returning from a business trip, but she was compelled to break through a dry wall to save her missing cat when she heard it meowing.

Hadden, who has two cats named Stripes and Cookie, hired a contractor to refurbish her home's bathroom before she left for a work trip to New York. She granted him permission to enter and exit the property as he pleased because she trusted him. She sent her sons to stay with their father and made arrangements for Stripes and Cookie to have automatic water and food dispensers as well as litter boxes. She even informed the worker that they would be allowed to freely roam around the home.

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Hadden told Today, "I'm a single mom, and I love my bath. So I just wanted a new bathtub, like a taller bathtub, so I could get in the bathtub and actually be under the water." She was looking forward to using her newly built bathtub when she got home from her business vacation. However, as it turned out, she had to punch through the drywall to save her cat.

In a TikTok video that has received over 2.6 million views, Hadden says, "As I'm sitting here trying to figure out where my cat is, I can hear the cat crying from somewhere in here." She claimed that when she got home, her normally quiet cat Cookie was unusually noisy. She could also hear Stripes but not see him. 

Hadden said, "I'm like, 'Man, what's going on?' And, 'Did you guys run out of food?' I'm upstairs, and I'm looking around and hear him meow, and I'm like, 'Oh my God. He's behind the wall.'" When she heard the cat's cries while using a drywall-cutting tool that she borrowed from a neighbor, she stopped what she was doing for fear of injuring the cat and smashed through the wall instead.

"I love our pets." Hadden continued, "They're like children to me." After a brief visit to the vet, the "shaken up" Stripes was deemed to be in good condition. "He's gotten lots of hugs and kisses and snuggles, and he's kind of a different cat. He's been really, really sweet and loving — probably because he was scared. He's like, 'I saw the light, and you saved me.'" Since then, she has become accustomed to hiring a cat sitter when she travels for work.