Missing Cat Found After Living In A Pet Food Store For Over A Year


A cat’s owners in Toton, England were amazed to find their missing cat Clive had been living a life of luxury in a nearby pet food store since he disappeared 14 months ago.

As reported by the BBC, Tanya and Jonathan Irons were reportedly devastated when Clive, a two-year-old Norwegian Forest cat, went missing in December 2014. The couple put up posters all over the neighborhood and even launched an appeal on Facebook, but reportedly to no avail. That is until now, when their missing cat has been found, living the the good life in a pet food store in nearby Stapleford.

Workers at the Kennelgate Pet Superstore were reportedly suspicious when they found evidence of a food-stealing cat in the store. Production supervisor Diane Gaskill said she saw the cat run past her a couple of times and they found droppings on the floor.

“I’ve been trying to catch him for weeks when I found out we had a cat living in the warehouse.”

They then came up with a cunning plan to trap the cat burglar. Workers placed a trail of kitty treats leading to a basket, suspended over a pressure pad which would cause it to drop, trapping the cat inside.

When staff arrived at work Tuesday, they found that the trap had been activated and Clive had finally been caught. He reportedly was hissing and spitting at them, but had to give in as he knew he had finally been caught.

It was then just a matter of taking him to a local vet, who scanned his microchip. This revealed he belonged to the Irons family, living two miles away in Toton.

When the vet contacted the owner, Tanya couldn’t at first believe it, but the family is thrilled to have him back. Apparently Clive has almost doubled in size since they last saw him.

According to Tanya, “Clive was nine months old when we lost him – and he was a lot smaller then.”

She went on to say that when they got Clive back, they were shocked to see how big and fluffy he was, adding, “He’s obviously been living the life of Riley in that pet food factory.”

Clive has apparently always been an independent cat who likes to go outside and the couple had assumed someone must have taken him in, as he is such a lovely cat.

After putting up signs all over the local neighborhood and starting their Facebook appeal, they had finally given up hope of ever seeing him again, until they got a call on Wednesday from a local veterinary surgery to tell them Clive had been found.

When speaking to the vet, Tanya asked what the cat looked like and whether he was OK, but it seems Clive was in good (and larger) shape and had been happily feeding himself in the pet food store.

According to the Mirror Online, the family is now slowly going to reintroduce Clive to his brothers, George and Leon. The three cat brothers were reportedly inseparable before and they hope that this will be the case now.

While Clive was reportedly a “bit smelly” when they caught him, he is apparently fine now and does recognize his owners. According to Tanya, Clive was never a big eater before, but always had to eat his food quickly to prevent his brothers from stealing it.

“He was probably glad he didn’t have to compete with them to eat for once.

Clive does, however, now have a huge appetite, but they are not going to put the cat on a diet as while he is bigger and fatter, he’s a happy cat and appears to be glad he is home.

[Photo via Flickr by Andrea/CC BY-NC 2.0]

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