Owner of 150-Year-Old House Hears Noise, Then Sees Who’s ‘Squatting’
December 12, 2025
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A post about a homeowner who discovers a mysterious cat living inside the walls of their garage has gone viral on Reddit.
The post, shared by u/spiritofporn, is titled “Feral (?) cat squatting in my garage” and has amassed 18,000 upvotes since it was uploaded on December 11. In a later comment, the homeowner noted that their house is around 150 years old.
“A month or two ago I heard noise in my garage,” the homeowner wrote in the caption of the post. “Took a while before I pinpointed the source. In the wall behind some shelves, there’s a hole where the piping runs through. Behind the hole there’s a space above the suspended ceiling of the room adjacent to the garage. I discovered this cat living there.”
The post includes a video beginning with a close-up of the hole. A small stick is shown hovering near the opening when, seconds later, the cat suddenly pops out—jumping up to grab the stick with her mouth before disappearing back into the hiding place.
Despite this brief interaction, the cat remains elusive. “I can’t coax her out no matter what I try,” the homeowner wrote. “I put a litter box in the garage and put out fresh food and water every day. She uses the litter box and eats the food, but only gets down from her hiding place when there’s nobody in the garage. How do I capture her without traumatizing her?”
According to guidance from the Humane World for Animals, determining whether a cat is feral, stray, or simply frightened is not always straightforward.
“While there are no hard-and-fast rules,” the group notes. “A cat who approaches you and is friendly toward humans is more likely to be a pet who is allowed outside or a lost or abandoned pet. A cat who is unsocialized (or feral) is more likely to be a community cat. A cat is probably feral if they’re still unapproachable and can’t be touched after several days of feeding.”
However, the organization adds that “not all pet cats are trusting of strangers, and some community cats are friendly with people. So socialization alone won’t tell you if a cat has an owner or caretaker, but knowing how the cat behaves around people will help guide your efforts to help them.”
To identify the cat’s background, they advise talking with neighbors, mail carriers, and others familiar with the area. “File a found cat report with the animal shelters in your region,” the group says. “Someone may have filed a lost cat report that is a match.”
Because the cat refuses to leave its hiding place while people are present, humane trapping is one potential solution—but it must be done carefully.
The People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) warns that “unsocialized or frightened cats can easily injure you (or themselves). Wear thick gloves if you plan to handle kittens or cats.” Even humane traps can cause distress, so any intervention must be gentle.
PETA recommends lining the bottom of the trap with “a thick piece of cloth, a folded newspaper, or an old towel,” making sure it does not interfere with the mechanism. Clean materials should be used each time, as “animals are very sensitive to smells.”
They also advise never leaving a trap unattended. “Set your trap, then back off, but stay within sight of it. Be patient,” PETA states. Early morning or late evening hours are best, and extreme weather should be avoided.
To increase the likelihood of success, PETA suggests setting the trap on stable, level ground and positioning it so the cat can keep an eye on any potential threats while entering. A small trail of smelly food should lead inside toward a larger portion placed on a paper plate or newspaper at the back.
Once the cat enters, PETA says the trap should be immediately covered with a towel, blanket, or sheet—depending on the weather—as trapped animals calm more quickly when shielded from view.
Newsweek has contacted the original poster for comment via the Reddit messaging system.
Do you have funny and adorable videos or pictures of your pet you want to share? Send them to life@newsweek.com with some details about your best friend and they could appear in our Pet of the Week lineup.
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