buckthesystem Posted March 1, 2008 Group: Royal Member Followers: 3 Topic Count: 1,706 Topics Per Day: 0.26 Content Count: 3,386 Content Per Day: 0.51 Reputation: 3 Days Won: 0 Joined: 03/12/2006 Status: Offline Birthday: 12/10/1955 Share Posted March 1, 2008 http://www.stuff.co.nz/4406265a26642.html Morticia, a frail, geriatric cat which does not usually toddle more than a few metres from home, has returned from a 500km journey after being mistaken for a stray. Her St Martins owner, who wants to be known only as Katherine, is the first to admit her beloved 18-year-old cat - dubbed the Duchess for her fine tastes in salmon and turkey catfood - is getting on. Morticia (Tish for short) cannot leap more than a few feet, has lost much of gloss from her black coat, and her body is thin and angular. But nothing could prepare Katherine for the shock that a woman visiting her neighbours would mistake Tish for an unwanted moggy and drive her to Greymouth. "If she had have done something with Tish in the district, it wouldn't have been so bad," said Katherine. "But to take her all the way to Greymouth on such an unexpected journey?" Tish was uplifted from a shared private driveway, just metres from her home. Katherine and neighbours combed nearby properties for any trace of Tish. She had almost written Tish off as dead when she bumped into a neighbour who said her friend had either taken the cat home to Greymouth or dropped her at the SPCA. Phone calls and texts established mid-week that Tish was alive, safe, and being looked after - on the wrong side of the Divide. After hearing of the sorry tale, The Press phoned Air New Zealand for help. Air NZ staff offered Tish a 35-minute flight over the Alps from Hokitika to Christchurch on Friday morning. All it required was for the woman who had Tish, Joan Lyon, to drop her off at Hokitika Airport an hour before take-off and the cargo handlers would do the rest. But instead, Lyon handed Tish over to the Greymouth SPCA. A vet checked over Tish, found underlying health conditions and a racing heart-rate, and declared her "unfit to fly". After two more days, the SPCA arrived at a solution. On Sunday the Greymouth SPCA drove Tish part-way home, then transferred her into the Canterbury SPCA's care. Christchurch shelter manager Geoff Sutton then drove Tish the last leg home - bewildered and bedraggled. Lyon said she picked up Tish out of goodwill and concern for her welfare. She had no idea at the time that Tish was an aged cat. "I was in tears when I saw the cat and the cat was crying to me and really wanting my attention and I thought `I'm not leaving this cat here to be attacked by a dog'." In hindsight, Lyon said she should not have driven the cat to Greymouth. "I did make an error on Sunday. If I was picking the cat up I needed to take it to the Christchurch SPCA ... and not over here. But I was really busy and I didn't think properly." Tish had a homecoming meal of salmon on Sunday night and slept like a baby on Katherine's bed. "She is definitely grounded for the rest of her natural life." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Afal Posted March 1, 2008 Group: Royal Member Followers: 1 Topic Count: 60 Topics Per Day: 0.01 Content Count: 2,249 Content Per Day: 0.36 Reputation: 3 Days Won: 0 Joined: 06/12/2007 Status: Offline Share Posted March 1, 2008 I'm glad that there was a happy ending! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted March 1, 2008 Share Posted March 1, 2008 Sounds like Kitty did a road trip! Glad kitty got home all right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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