The man, who was working on the home on Sunday, June 13, then decided to investigate further, after the homeowners told him they had heard meowing coming from the walls.
Over the course of eight hours he removed 16 cats; nine adults and seven kittens.
The felines were not in good health—both scared and covered in their own filth—and tragically, one of the kittens was not able to be saved.
The man took them to Philadelphia’s Animal Care and Control Team (ACCT) in two crates.
A spokesperson for the ACCT released a post to their official Facebook page, detailing the unlikely story.
They wrote: “Sunday started out a bit differently for a contractor working on an abandoned house. The home owners had heard meowing in the walls, and when he opened the wall, he found 9 adult cats with 7 kittens.
“Thankfully, he was able to get them out and bring them to us—but it took eight hours to do so. We’re so glad that he did, as quite a few aren’t in great shape, and sadly, one of the kittens was not able to be saved.”
They also confirmed that they are looking for people to adopt or foster the cats, explaining: “The cats are scared, some will require more socialization, but right now they are resting in their cages.”
They also included a call to arms on how to help, by either fostering or adopting animals, or donating to their cause.
Many took to the comments section on Facebook to share their thoughts on the amazing story.
One person, Kristy Thompson, wrote: “Thank you a million times to the contractor that spent 8 hours getting these angels together & to safety.”
Another social media user, Lynne Hoke Simms, added: “So glad they are in safe hands now… poor little babies.”
Lia Scarpitti wanted to know more about the circumstances, asking: “I’m not even going to question the kittens but how the hell are 9 ADULT CATS inside a wall?
“Questions questions questions like how this happened, how long were they in the wall, what were they eating/ drinking to survive?”
A spokesman for the ACCT told Newsweek: “This case is getting a lot of attention given the unusual circumstances, but these cats were among 40 we took in yesterday, and we need people’s support to be there for these and all the animals we take in.
“Just last year, we received a cut of nearly $900,000 to our contract with the city, but no change in the services we provide.
“So we need everyone in the community to help. They can choose to foster a cat like one of these, who needs additional socialization.
“They can adopt a cat who needs a home. They can help by making a donation to ACCT Philly. Everyone can do something.”
