Do you have access to (i.e. are you writing) Class::Whatever ?

If so, define Class::Whatever as a subclass of Tie::StdHash,

package Class:whatever;

@ISA = (Tie::StdHash)
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you can use the hash capabilities plus whatever else you add to the new class, including e.g. methods.

Tie::StdHash is part of Tie::Hash
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Brovnik