Rodney, the 10-year-old tabby, has been somewhere in the Marton countryside for the past three weeks. Photo / Supplied
Rodney, the 10-year-old tabby, has been somewhere in the Marton countryside for the past three weeks. Photo / Supplied
Three weeks after Rodney the cat was allegedly dumped on the outskirts of Marton the community and the hundreds who have joined the search have not given up hope that he will be found.
The tabby cat, who had spent the majority of his life lounging around and greeting customersinside Marton's ITM store, was allegedly dumped by a staff member of the store 15km north of the town.
Since then hundreds of volunteers have come from far and wide to join local rescuers like the Marton Moggies on their search.
One volunteer, Beverley Dowling, said there had been a number of sightings of Rodney or tabby lookalikes over the past few weeks.
"Rodney is an indoor cat with outdoor access with skittish behaviour that has been displaced so these need to be considered when searching," she said.
"Normally, when a cat is displaced they will hunker down from anywhere between three and 12 days and, even if you're calling, they will be quiet because they know they are potentially in another cat's territory and they're frightened so this is why calling is not very good, it pushes them deeper into hiding."
She asks anyone out searching for Rodney to remain quiet and to look for signs of activity such as faeces or trails.
"We believe Rodney is most likely going to make his way down and around Tutaenui Rd."
She said local stores, including Marton's ITM, had been "very helpful" in helping display posters of Rodney in their shop windows and front counters.
She and her friend, Raye, had 100 posters and 800 flyers made which they have distributed to every household up and down from the site where Rodney was left.
And, despite the recent wild weather, Dowling remains positive that they will find Rodney.
With lots of houses and haybarns down Tutaenui Rd she is confident that everything is in his favour and he is making his way home slowly but surely.
"I know people are stressed and he's old but it can be done."
Rodney at his old home at the Marton ITM store where he enjoyed greeting customers on a daily basis. Photo / Supplied
And, although Rodney may not have been found, a number of other cats in the region are benefitting from the community's efforts.
Dowling has set up an account for Rodney and any other cat they find to get the vet care they need.
She said every other cat they trap in their humane traps they either chip-check to reunite lost cats with their owners or they de-sex them, chip them and rehome them through an animal shelter through the funds raised on the account.
She said the Whanganui SPCA has offered to take it in and care for any injured or ill-looking cat they find.
She wants everyone who may own a cat or is looking to get one to make sure they are chipped and desexed especially as spring approaches and a number of unwanted kittens will begin to appear.
But for now "unless we find a body, we assume Rodney's alive, we're staying really positive as we know it can take months for a cat to make it's way back," Dowling said.
