Community Corner

LETTER: Local Cat, Maori is Back Home

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Maori the cat has had a long journey. She traveled from England all the way to the Orchard City with her family, but then went missing about two weeks ago.

Campbell Patch heard about the disappearance from Maori's owner, Sheila Wells on Twitter. We wanted to help so posted the information on the site.

Maori was found recently while Sheila was away but her husband, Dan Wells tells the story here.

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Maori was always a very shy cat, when we brought her on the plane from England; she was too shy to make a noise and rarely peeped through the window of her carrier. She does not take quickly to strangers and even took a long time to accept Sheila and I when we first got her.

Recently, she became a bit more adventurous, probably encouraged by the local cats that started paying attention to her. She began exploring the community, often staying out through the night and returning by morning to find a full dish of food and to meow when I woke up. This time was different.
 
Recently, a cat that we didn't recognise started to follow her. He was fluffy, dirty and had no collar, which led us to think he was a stray, and he ran any time Sheila or myself went near. Unlike the other cats, this one turned up regularly and we often saw the two of them sat looking at each other. He looked like trouble… (I’m starting to sound like a father!)
 
One cold night, Maori was quite agitated, but we didn’t want her to go outside. She had other plans though; she darted past us and through the door before we could catch her. We didn’t think much of this, because she always returned by morning. We were wrong. Although she didn’t return that morning, we were still certain she would return the next night, when her hunger caught up with her, but again there was no sign of her. We left food outside, hoping the smell would attract her, but another night passed without her return.
 
Being new to the area, we didn’t know anyone to ask for help, so we printed posters, put them up around the community and posted them on Twitter. Sheila discovered Campbell Patch and sent you the poster. We didn’t expect anyone to catch her, but hopefully someone would have seen her and remember the pink collar and name tag. 
 
As almost two weeks passed, we started to lose hope.  We didn’t know what had happened to Maori; we just hoped someone could tell us something. When I answered a phone call and heard that Maori had been seen, I couldn’t believe it. 
 
Tammy lives on a quiet street on the other side of Union Avenue and about a quarter of a mile away. She saw Maori in her garden one morning and her neighbor told her that a cat with that description was missing. She called me and I came straight away, hoping to find her. 
 
By the time I arrived, she was long gone, but we planned her capture. Tammy spoke to her neighbours to let them know about our runaway and allowed me to leave her bed, blankets and some food near her door. Having cats herself, Tammy had a lot of good ideas about how to catch an escapee.
 
I returned after it got dark and began searching by torchlight with a tin of food. My heart stopped when the beam caught, not only the eyes of a cat, but a pink collar and a familiar tabby face. I slowly walked towards her and opened the tin of food. She was obviously hungry, but also very nervous and would not allow me anywhere near. Worried that she would run away again, I set down the food and went to find backup. Tammy brought a plate of chicken, I brought her carrier and we quietly approached the area where I last saw her. She was eating the food I had left, but quickly retreated to some bushes. I lay on the ground to approach her height, called her and held out my hand for her to smell. She edged closer and I grabbed her. She then panicked and struggled, lashing out with her claws. One claw caught my hand and I dropped her, which allowed her to escape again. She didn’t go far, though, so I tried again to build her trust. I held out my hand again, allowed her to sniff it, then – deliberately tapping it on the ground – gave her the can of food. I took no chances this time, grabbed her with both hands, and put her into her carrier while Tammy locked the door.
 
She cried in protest all the way home, but as soon as I opened the carrier, she was a different cat. Hungry, affectionate and lonely, she followed me around and cried when I left the room. She is very thin after her ordeal, and I dread to think what would have happened had we not found her in time.

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Sheila and I are very grateful to everyone who helped find Maori, especially to Tammy who really could not have been more helpful.


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