Town eager to get back dumped cat
A small North Island community is banding together after a beloved cat was dumped in the countryside.
The tabby cat named Rodney had spent most of his life lounging around and greeting customers inside Marton’s ITM store, a home he adopted after a previous staff member took him in.
Grant Henderson, digital marketing manager at ITM’S support office, said it was believed Rodney began to cause issues for the store around insurance and setting off alarms.
“There was some discussion about moving the cat on but certainly not in the way that it was done, so it was a very poor decision to handle said.
Instead of rehoming him, a Marton ITM staff member took the cat 15km north of Marton and left Rodney to fend for himself, outraging the town.
Comments on Marton Facebook group pages expressed “disgust” and “shock” and suggested the staffer be held accountable.
Henderson said it was brought to ITM’S attention how one staffer’s actions had upset many people.
ITM gave $1000 to the Marton Moggies group to help cover the costs of finding Rodney. In the past two weeks, the Moggies have been joined by the community in the search.
it that way,” Henderson
The Moggies will continue with their traps for the rest of the week and reassess then.
“We still have hope and while we would still prefer people to not come around the releasing area, if you do live between there and Marton, please keep an eye out,” they wrote.
They said there were alternatives to dumping animals.
Henderson said the person responsible and the rest of the staff “felt terrible” and “we’re now working to find the cat and get him to a better home”.
He said the staffer had effectively stepped down from the position for a period and the store owners were discussing the person’s role.
The SPCA is investigating.