NEWPORT BEACH : Just a Hole in Wall, Barely Fit for a Cat

You’ve heard of “The Cat in the Hat” and how the cat got out of the bag. But at Newport Beach City Hall, it was the case of a cat in the wall.

A small cat somehow got wedged inside a wall near the city manager’s office and wouldn’t come out.

Authorities realized the cat, a small calico estimated to be about 6 months old, was stuck when they began hearing it yowl on Tuesday, said Kathy Forde, the city manager’s secretary, adding that the animal “was not a happy camper.”

“It apparently fell off the roof and into a blank wall,” Forde said, then could not climb back up the wall and out through the roof.

After animal control officials pinpointed the animal’s location, work crews cut a small hole through the building’s exterior Tuesday.

But it wouldn’t leave its nest inside the wall, despite a bowl of milk set out near the opening. Wednesday morning, City Hall employees returned to find the milk bowl drained and the cat still in the wall.

Eventually, however, the cat crept through the hole and took refuge in some bushes near City Hall. Although repeated attempts were made to capture the animal, authorities had not managed to corral the cat by Wednesday evening, Forde said.

“I’m sure it would make someone a very nice pet,” Forde said.