John DeBacker doesn’t need a mask or cape to be considered a hero by one Long Island family.
Wearing his “Catman” T-shirt, DeBacker carried out a delicate rescue mission to save Lola, a frightened and exhausted cat that had been trapped behind a wall in her family’s former home in the New York City suburbs for roughly five days—likely upside down for much of that time.
Lola’s ordeal began about two weeks before she was rescued, when she slipped beneath a floorboard as her family moved out of their second-floor apartment in Franklin Square.
That was when the family called DeBacker and his team for help.
DeBacker, who has rescued cats for at least 15 years, initially placed food and cameras inside a trap to coax Lola out. But whenever she emerged at night, she avoided the setup.
The situation grew more desperate when Lola stopped appearing altogether. She had fallen and become trapped behind a wall on the first floor.
By the time rescuers located her, Lola was hanging upside down, eating insulation and growing weaker by the hour. DeBacker feared they might not be able to save her alive.
Their prospects changed last Friday. With assistance from a contractor, the team began cutting into the wall with an electric saw and used an endoscopic camera to locate Lola.
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Because the frightened cat appeared nervous, rescuers switched to a quieter drill to keep her from scrambling farther into the wall.
“After two weeks we did not want to lose the cat again,” he said.
Video from the rescue shows DeBacker reaching through the narrow opening and finding Lola’s hind legs. He then stood up, shifted his weight backward and gently pulled the cat out in reverse.
“Safe!” a woman says in the video as the dusty, exhausted cat is placed inside a crate lined with towels.
After Lola was finally freed, DeBacker called the moment the greatest feeling in the world.
“We were all so happy,” he said.
“It’s pretty miraculous that the cat survived there five days with no food or water,” DeBacker said. “And when you’re upside-down, all the blood is rushing to your head.”
Lola was rushed to an emergency veterinarian, where doctors found insulation in her body, DeBacker said. She has since returned home, though she is eating poorly. Her family continues to take her to the vet as they work to determine what is wrong.
DeBacker, who has four cats of his own, urged other pet owners to take extra precautions when moving. “Secure the cats first and not after all the moving. The moving will scare the cat into hiding,” he said.