(UPI) Workers at a construction site for a new county jail in California discovered a kitten that had been living in the walls for several months.

Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Office on Wednesday shared photos of the tiny gray kitten construction workers found while cleaning and clearing brick walls that were set to be filled with concrete.

The sheriff's office said a box of kittens had been dropped off at the construction site "a couple of months ago," but when staff began searching for the felines they were nowhere to be found.

Staff feared the kittens may have been snatched up by coyotes and hawks that were seen in the area, but hoped the animals had been taken home by staff until workers heard meows coming from inside the hollow wall around 6 a.m. last week.

"Low and behold, there was a kitten living in the base of the brick courses! It was happy to stay inside the walls, which of course was not possible," the office said.

The scrappy kitten was reluctant to leave its home inside the jail walls, forcing workers to break through the wall.

"Once they finally got a hold of the kitten they were happy to see that other than being a little scrawny and skittish, he was in good condition," the sheriff's office said.

The kitten was taken in by the sheriff's office and given the name "Chapo" for what it said were obvious reasons.

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