Rescuers spend 12 hours trying to save pregnant cat from locked bin… only to discover it was a TOY

Noise came from battery-operated cat

Fears that it was a missing pet called Puss Puss

When villagers searching for a missing cat heard frantic miaowing from a recycling bin, they thought the runaway had been found.

But their efforts to free the cat, which was due to give birth any moment, became increasingly desperate as the lock on the clothing bin was broken and couldn’t be opened.

After the fire brigade and RSPCA’s attempts also failed, the worried villagers had it loaded on to a truck and driven to a specialist engineering firm 20 miles away.

Miaow!: Rescuers spent 12 hours trying to get this squeaky toy cat out of a clothes bank, thinking it was a real cat

There, steel saws were used to gain access and the mewing prisoner was revealed – as nothing more than a squeaky toy.

Kelvin Owen, who owns the engineering firm, said: ‘Once we got into the bin we heard the miaowing – it sounded just like a cat and we all started to carefully search the bags.

‘Then I found a bag of toys and picked out a toy. I said: “It couldn’t be this, could it?” As I held it it went “miaow, miaow”. Mystery solved!’

The 12-hour drama unfolded in the seaside village of Moelfre, near Anglesey, North Wales, as a pregnant stray cat was being taken to a foster home by an animal charity worker.

As the animal was being dropped off she escaped. Villagers were alerted to be on the lookout for the cat but it wasn’t until three days later that miaowing was heard from the clothes bin.

Missing: Puss Puss, the pregnant cat rescuers thought was stuck in the recycling bin

‘By this time we thought the cat had been in there for three days,’ said Jasmine Hazlehurst, from animal charity Anglesey Pets.

‘We were worried she could have had the kittens and was trapped, without much air supply or food, so we were desperate to get her out. I did feel embarrassed when they pulled out the stuffed cat.

‘People were laughing, it was a priceless moment. I’m not that familiar with Disney toys but I’m told it is Marie from the Aristocats. She makes a miaowing sound that is very realistic when you touch her paw. My five-year-old daughter Naomi has been playing with her ever since.’

The pregnant cat is still missing. ‘Cats have a way of getting into people’s homes and hearts, so we are just hoping someone is feeding and looking after her,’ said Mrs Hazlehurst.

Effort: Rescuers try to get into recycling bin to save 'Puss Puss', but it turned out it was a toy cat, pictured with pet rescue volunteer Rachel Owen