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Rodney at the counter at Central ITM Marton, where he lived happily for a decade.
Rodney, the hardware store cat who was once controversially thrown in the middle of nowhere, disappears again.
The cat was a beloved and familiar presence at the Central ITM Marton counter for 10 years, until a store manager took it to the forest outside the city of Rangitīkei in June and left it there.
The spill sparked a backlash from the community and animal lovers across New Zealand.
Rodney was found alive, after spending a month in the wild, but that happy ending has since soured as efforts to relocate the cat have gone awry and search parties are meeting again.
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Rodney loved sleeping in his shirt on the counter at ITM Marton
The Marton Moggies cat rescue group arranged for Rodney to be microchipped and relocated, but the cat kept trying to get back to the hardware store he had called home.
Its new owner eventually returned it to the SPCA and the charity, to shake Rodney’s affinity for the hardware store, moved it to New Plymouth.
But again Rodney has fled, escaping from a cat carrier on his way to a new home in the suburb of Spotswood on Friday.
Rodney’s Rescues, a Facebook-based animal rescue group inspired by the effort to find Rodney in July, is coordinating the search for the cat.
Founder Beverly Dowling is in contact with the couple who adopted Rodney. They have posted a $ 250 reward for their return.
Dowling heads from Horowhenua to New Plymouth to help the volunteers with the search.
Central ITM owner Robert James said Rodney had returned to the Marton store about four weeks ago. The staff called the cat’s new owner, but never went looking for it.
The staff fed and cared for Rodney until he was handed over to the SPCA.
Charity spokeswoman Kim Taylor said she was asked by the new owner to take Rodney, now renamed Robby, because she felt she couldn’t properly care for the cat when it kept escaping.
RNZ
Rodney the cat was often parked at checkout counters at ITM stores, but was abandoned in the country in June after being deemed a nuisance. First Published On June 17, 2020
He said it was heartbreaking for everyone who cared for Rodney that he was lost and alone, but that it was no one’s fault the cat was gone again.
“We are all trying to do what is best for the animal and the SPCA is helping [with the search] where I can “.
Dowling did not reveal the identities of Rodney’s new owners in New Plymouth, fearing they would be abused online.
“There is a lot of hatred and guilt. But it’s unnecessary … They all did things right and did what they thought was best for Rodney. “
