London, Nov 24 : A curious cat was recovered alive after spending 44 days trapped behind a bathroom cupboard.

Her owner, Pensioner Jessie Sculpher, 79 was devastated after her new pet went missing just three days after bringing her home from the RSPCA.

Initially, Jessie resigned herself to the idea that Tabitha had run away after searching her home and garden.

Later when Jessie heard a strange sound coming from behind the vanity unit in the bathroom a month later, she was finally reunited with her feline friend.

"It was 4am and I heard some scratching and knocking coming from the bathroom,” the Daily Mail quoted Jessie, as saying.

"At first I thought it was a rat but then I heard a miaow,” she added.

Jessie found that Tabby was trapped behind the unit and the wall. After breaking the top of the hardboard, Jessie saw the feline’s legs sticking out, following which she pulled her pet up.

"My arm was all bruised but I pulled her out by her legs. She couldn't hold her head up and she couldn't stand,” said Jessie.

Jessie rushed Tabitha to the Garth Veterinary Group in Driffield, East Yorkshire; where the cat was diagnosed with severe dehydration resulting due to licking condensation off the sink pipes.

Jessie said: "They put her on a drip to get fluid into her but said she might not pull through. After she had gone for six weeks, I had given up hope. The vets think she had been unconscious for some of the time through dehydration.”

"The vets thought she must have gone into some sort of coma but wondered whether she had licked condensation off the sink pipes,” she added.

Luckily, Tabitha pulled through and is content to remain at home after bonding with her owner.

Paul Thompson, partner at Garth Veterinary Group, said it was a miracle the cat survived.

He said: "She would have got to such a state of dehydration that she would have lapsed into a low-activity state. It is extremely rare to have survived this long and she is an extremely lucky cat that she is back to normal with no ill-effects." (ANI)