A restaurant in Seoul, Korea, has a customer who comes in daily. This unique client has the particularity of never using the regular entrance, always eating solo, and never paying the tab.
It’s Gamja, a brown-haired stray kitten.
Gamja first showed up in the eatery in January 2022 through a hole in a ceiling. He looked tired and hungry.
The place’s owner took pity on the starving kitten and served him some leftovers from her stock. Since then, Gamja has become a regular, coming three to four times a day for a bite.
Far from being annoyed, the restaurant owner continues to serve him food. She thinks this routine has rendered them closer even though the cat is still shy and weary.
Gamja doesn’t like people approaching him, so he stays in his ceiling den. The restaurant tried to help the critter get down one day, but he had a panicked reaction and fled.
Therefore, she found another method. Whenever food is ready, the woman goes near the cat’s hole and shouts his name.
 As long as someone is in the room, the cat won’t descend, so she leaves his food on a shelve near the hole. Gamja waits to ensure the room’s empty; then, he leaves his spot and comes down to eat.
However, the slightest noise will make the brown cat jump right back to his lair.
At the end of the day, the restaurant owner has to close the place and go home. Still, she always remembers her protégé.
The woman leaves a bowl of cat food for Gamja before leaving the building. Nevertheless, a cat roaming alone in a kitchen can be an issue.
Besides, as a cook, the restaurateur understands the importance of hygiene in her workplace, so she found a compromise. She protects her utensils with a thick plastic curtain prior to closing.
Once she’s gone, the night camera records the stray cat coming for his dinner. Afterward, he returns to the ceiling.
Getting the cat out of his hiding spot
The restaurant owner thinks the stray might be afraid of something, hence his reluctance to leave the hole. She wondered if Gamja had another way to get out of the ceiling or was stuck.
Her questions were answered when a staff member found pawprints in a different room. The ceiling had openings in other spots, allowing the stray feline to wander.
However, the restaurant owner decided to help the cat leave the dusty ceiling with no ventilation for good. Consequently, she set up a rescue operation with Kritter Klub.
They installed a rescue trap for the kitten and placed food inside to lure him. Although initially prudent, Gamja eventually entered the trap, which closed on him.
Finally, his savior could see the cat up close for the first time. Next for Gamja was a trip to the vet.
Exams revealed he had minor pneumonia from the ceiling dust but was relatively healthy. Soon the cat was discharged.
The restaurant made the obvious choice, adopting him. So this cat, who has lived in a ceiling for months, has a family now.