The Cat That Launched a Thousand Stories

While dog might be man's best friend, it's clear what the importance of a cat who can catch mice is, as the search for Molly, the mouser at British specialty foods store Myers of Keswick who is trapped in a wall, continues to draw interest. Peter Myers, the store's owner, told the NY Times, "She's a mouser, and we want to get her back to work as soon as possible," and speculated to CNN that Molly was laughing at the hubbub. Oh, and mice have returned to the store, given Molly's 2 week absence. The Landmarks Preservation Commission, sensing that the fate of a kitty cat could be more important than being the mean agency that killed a curious cat to keep the historic building up, is allowing rescue workers to remove a wall, saying they could "do whatever is necessary to rescue the cat." Which means drilling holes in the wall. Another option is to dig a hole through the floor of the store. But in the meantime, Animal Care and Control has been doing all sorts of things to try to draw Molly out, from bringing in kittens to mewl and hopefully spark Molly's maternal instinct (let's hope Molly is, in fact, a girl cat) and even bringing in a cat therapist, who used whale and sea gull sounds; ACC asked the therapist to stop, thinking that actually Molly was getting more stressed out. Well, having swarms of people trying to get her out would stress her out, regardless. We suggest the ACC attach some food packs to the backs of some hamsters and set them loose in the wall so Molly can get her energy back up. And Gothamist has a sneaking suspicion the papers will hope for an Easter miracle.

Photograph of one of the kittens used as Molly bait from the AP