A mum has shared the bizarre moment when she discovered her contractor had trapped her cat in a wall during a business trip – and revealed she only realized the cat was stuck when she heard him meow.
Ashlin Hadden, 38, who runs an insurance agency in Noblesville, Indiana, has opened up about the “Cat-a-strophic” DIY mishap in a now-viral series of TikTok videos, detailing how she punctured a hole through her newly renovated home bathroom wall when she realized her cat was trapped inside.
The single mom captioned her first post: “The contractor dry fitted MY CAT into the drywall while I was on a business trip. The story of my life.’
During the clip, Ashlin explained that her beloved cat, Stripes, had been missing for nearly three days when she heard a bizarre noise coming from the bathroom ceiling.
“So I hired someone to renovate the bathroom,” she explains in the video while showing off her newly installed bathtub and tiled walls.
“They pulled out the bathtub and put in the new shower. And as I sit here trying to figure out where my cat is, I can hear the cat crying somewhere in here,” she continues while pointing at the bathroom wall.
An Indiana woman has revealed a contractor trapped her cat in a wall after patching a hole without realizing the cat had snuck in
Single mom Ashlin Hadden, 38, from Indiana, was returning from a business trip to find her beloved cat, Stripes, missing
She began searching her house to track down the cat and eventually heard its meowing from the ceiling
‘Just me. Just me. So I end up punching a hole in the wall and it comes out [Stripes].
“Yeah, the contractor, the stupid contractor stuck my cat in the drywall under the bathtub.
“This poor cat was locked in there for three days, stuck under the drywall.”
In a later video, Ashlin revealed Stripes had been checked out by a vet and was “fine” – while admitting she had been furiously criticized by TikTok users for “shaming” her contractor and not making sure that her cat was properly cared for while she was away on her trip.
‘Yes we [are all] I’m aware that it’s my fault for not locking the cat in!’ She recorded a second video of her walking around the house trying to find Stripes.
“I was officially beaten up [in the comments]. Accepted locking [the cat] from the [bathroom] was enough.’
Speaking to NeedToKnow.online, Ashlin explained that she allowed the contractor to continue working on her home while she was away because he was “behind” with his work and she wanted to finish the job before she returned.
“He knew the cats were in the house, I locked the cats out of the bedroom and main bathroom,” she explained.
“Upon returning from my business trip, one of my cats (Cookie – the girl) met me at the door and she was acting unusually loud.
After realizing that Stripes was trapped in the wall, Ashlin eventually punched a hole through the drywall to free him after initially trying to cut a square and failing
According to Ashlin, her cats, Stripes and Cookie, were trapped in her bedroom while she was away, but Stripes managed to get out and venture into the bathroom
Ashlin says Stripes was stuck in the wall for three days – but she had him checked out by a vet and insisted he was “fine”.
“As I sit here trying to figure out where my cat is, I can hear the cat crying somewhere in here,” she says in the video while pointing at the wall
“I went into the room to check the food, water and litter box and everything looked fine, but I still couldn’t see Stripes.
“So I started meowing to see if he would answer. It wasn’t his style not to come to the door. I looked around the house and didn’t see anything.”
Suddenly, Ashlin heard a “faint meowing” but couldn’t believe where the sound was coming from.
She said: “I started this little cat talk where I meowed and he meowed back.
“I started getting worried because I couldn’t find out where he was. After a few minutes, it seemed like the meowing was coming from the ceiling.
“I ran upstairs and heard him scratching the wall in my closet.
“I could tell there was a mark in the drywall, so I ran to the neighbors’ house and asked for a drywall saw. Then I started cutting the drywall.’
After realizing that Stripes was trapped, Ashlin took evasive action.
“He started meowing even louder, so I thought maybe I was going to hurt him, so I just punched a hole right in the wall and then kind of kicked it in,” she revealed.
“The cat jumped out! I was crying and scared and nervous. I worried about the cat, but also how my oldest child, Gavin, would react.
Ashlin revealed that she called her contractor to ask if he caught the cat in the wall, to which he replied: “Well yeah I guess we didn’t cover the hole when we went the other day.”
After her first video went viral, Ashlin later shared ring camera footage of herself walking through the house trying to find Stripes
In the footage, the single mum can be seen looking up at the ceiling after hearing her cat meow overhead
“He has ADHD and an emotional disorder and this cat is his life, he loves Stripes.”
TikTok viewers were stunned by the bizarre incident, and users were quick to share their reactions.
‘Poor kitty. I’m glad they’re doing well,” one person commented. [sic]
“HOW DO YOU EVER DO THIS?” commented a second viewer. [sic]
One user said: “I’m shocked at how many people think this is okay. That wasn’t okay and glad your cat is safe and those guys are outside. You must come back to fix the wall.” [sic]
However, critics soon emerged from the woodwork and slammed Ashlin for not taking the proper precautions.
“Sounds like this is your fault, not the contractor’s fault,” said one user.
“Also, they don’t get paid to watch where your pets are while they work. if it creeps up, it’s not her fault…” commented a second viewer.
After finally getting Stripes to safety, Ashlin called the contractor.
She claims: “I asked if there was any possibility that they dry-built the cat.
“I knew damn well what the answer was because I’d just gotten the cat out of there, and he said, ‘Well, I guess we didn’t cover the hole when we went the other day.’
Ashlin, who is dedicated to supporting her local community, is now using the popularity of her viral clip to raise money for her local animal rescue, 4 Precious Paws.