Let’s Get Terry Gilliam To Direct

The hunt for Molly* the cat, who has been trapped in a Greenwich Village wall for like two weeks, has reached a Vivi-esque levels. Today, the Daily News reports on the latest:

For 13 days, Molly the cat has been trapped behind the wall of a Greenwich Village food shop, and would-be rescuers yesterday enlisted the help of kittens, humane traps, and even a feline therapist to lure the animal out.

As those efforts failed, the surreal spectacle surrounding 634 Hudson St. only grew as animal welfare workers, elite NYPD cops, and curious onlookers all pleaded for the 11-month-old black cat to emerge.

“We love you. Come out, Molly, we’re not going to hurt you,” cat therapist Carole Wilbourn cooed into a hole in the wall from which Molly’s meows have been heard. “It’s okay, we have the Molly fan club out here.”

Wilbourn used recordings of whale and sea gull sounds to try to coax Molly out — until she was asked to stop by an Animal Care & Control worker who feared the noise was only “stressing” the cat further.

“I can hear she’s distressed and she’s trying to get out,” said Wilbourn, who said she has treated 10,000 cats in her 30-year career. “I just want to help her.”

Molly catches mice at Myers of Keswick, a British food store, and apparently squeezed into a small hole in the 19th century building’s wall on March 31, said her owner, Peter Myers.

. . .

Rescue work has been slowed by the four-story walkup’s designation as a historic landmark, but city officials yesterday gave permission to remove more bricks to find the elusive cat. Mewing kittens and traps baited with food also were deployed as enticements.

Meanwhile, the Times focuses on the media frenzy surrounding the story:

Outside the 157-year-old, four-story building, reporters, photographers and television and radio crews recorded the scene and hung on every word from rescuers, who emerged now and then from steel trap doors in the sidewalk to report no progress. With little news, some reporters solicited the views of dog walkers and others who paused to watch the activity, which was making news across the country and even abroad.

Mr. Myers told of receiving calls from across America and letters from dozens of schoolchildren, all voicing hope for Molly. Reports on Molly appeared on Web sites of The Chicago Tribune and The Times of London, which noted that the deli sold clotted cream and meat pies and hit the home audience angle: “A cat who protects the delicacies much sought after by British expatriates is trapped behind a wall.” Some reporters, waxing eloquent, spoke of “the peripatetic pussycat” and “the timorous tabby.”

(By the way, what has Terry Gilliam been up to lately?)

*Incidentally, I’m hearing from reliable sources that the cat is actually named Millie . . .