'Our cat was lost - then next door's floor meowed'

Kelly Cooper and her dad Ben Smith hired a pet detective before finding Leia under their neighbours' floor

A cat that survived being accidentally trapped under floorboards for three weeks in Deal is doing "much better now".

Leia was missing for three weeks before neighbours heard her meowing under their recently laid floor.

Her owners suspect the cat got stuck during the neighbours' home renovations and survived by drinking beer from a can found beside her.

Kelly Cooper told BBC Radio Kent on Thursday that her father Ben Smith, who owns the cat, claimed Leia was "resentful and cross with him" after the escapade but had recently started curling up on his knee once again.

Ms Cooper said she could "almost see [Leia] putting on weight each day" as she recovered after being rescued.

"She was euphoric when she came in the house, playing and eating and drinking as you can imagine, and then spent a day or two really tired," Ms Cooper added.

It is thought the cat crawled under the floor unnoticed during renovation work at the house

Ms Cooper and her 83-year-old father had been in contact with the "lovely and supportive" neighbours throughout their hunt for Leia, and they got in touch to say they thought they could hear cat noises, as first reported by Kent Online.

After cutting a hole in the new flooring, they found Leia looking back at them.

It is thought the cat crawled under the floor unnoticed during renovation work at the house.

"You can imagine what followed - we were beside ourselves," Ms Cooper said.

They also found an open can of beer in the hole, and believe the cat survived on this or another unknown source of water.

"It's a bit of a mystery," Ms Cooper said, "but perhaps she did drink that beer. She certainly seemed pretty dozy when I picked her up."

Ms Cooper leafleted the area and hired a 'pet detective' to try to find the cat.

She said the neighbours probably could not hear Leia until then as "there's been so much noise going on" from the works.