Forget nine lives. Behold Speedy: the cat who wouldn't die. The 22-month-old kitty with the suburban Spa address is alive, though skinny and medicated, days after his bereaved owners, Ronen and Heather Har-Zvi, joyfully recovered him from within a wall in their home's basement. They think he was stuck there for six weeks. Speedy disappeared in March by crawling atop some shelves and into a small space at the top of an unfinished Sheetrocked wall. He didn't eat a thing during his six weeks of accidental confinement and lost 5 of his 13 pounds. His veterinarian believes he survived by licking condensation from a hot water pipe that ran through the wall, Heather Har-Zvi said. The couple, who had searched everywhere for weeks, discovered the "extremely quiet" orange-and-white cat Saturday after Ronen took an unusually long and hot shower. Perhaps the pipes grew hot, but Speedy let out several unmistakable meows, much louder than the mysterious catlike groans that had haunted the family throughout April. "I said, It's six weeks later, there's no way that can be our cat," Heather Har-Zvi said. But it was. The couple and their son Aaron, followed the noises, ran downstairs and noticed a tiny paw sticking out the bottom of the wall along with some insulation. Ronen Har-Zvi ripped a part of the Sheetrock from its studs, revealing a vulnerable feline, fur still intact and eyes shining. "I was amazed," Ronen Har-Zvi said. So was Aaron, who calls Speedy his best friend and sometimes sleeps with him. The cat suffered dehydration and a bacterial infection in his intestines from not eating, Heather Har-Zvi said. Now, Speedy is taking antibiotics and, other than recuperating, "he's exactly the same." The family, however, is still a bit taken aback. They had thrown away Speedy's litter box after several weeks, trying to admit to themselves that their cat wasn't returning. Then, Ronen Har-Zvi took his 30-minute shower. "Thank goodness Speedy isn't claustrophobic," Heather Har-Zvi said. |
