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Awahuri Cat Motel lost Brent Hughes’ cat, Missy, after taking care of her for just one day. She was given to another owner on December 28 and has been missing ever since.
The story of a lost cat from a cattery in Manawatū resonated with another family, as the same cattery gave their beloved 13-year-old cat to the wrong owner.
Brent and Pam Hughes left their cat Missy behind at the Awahuri Cat Motel on Dec. 27 before leaving for two weeks.
On January 11, Pam went to get Missy back, but the owner told her they couldn’t find her.
In a story published by Stuff on January 18 another owner who left his pet at the cattery in Palmerston North over the festive period reported his cat missing.
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Brent went back to the cattery to find out what was going on and only then did the owners of Awahuri Cat Motel realize they had given Missy to another person.
He said they were appalled by the cattery’s actions, as the Hughes only found out when they returned from their trip, on January 11, that Missy had been given to another owner on December 28.
The cat was given to another couple who live in Fielding who also had a cat named Missy.
When Brent went to see where the cat was, they told him the cat was gone.
“They realized as soon as they opened the cage that it wasn’t their cat, but our cat is so frisky he just jumped out of the cage and ran,” said Brent.
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Pepper, owned by Jill McAsey, disappeared while in the care of Awahuri Cat Motel.
He didn’t have much hope that Missy would come back.
“They always say a cat would return to its home, but I don’t know if she ever would.
‘I don’t think Missy would be alive. I doubt it because I don’t think she could take care of herself,’ he said.
Awahuri Cat Motel reimbursed the Hughes for the $160 they paid for the 16-day stay.
Brent contacted SPCA who told him to contact a lawyer as there was nothing else they could do.
“But we don’t want that at all. We’re not that kind of person, but it’s just a little disappointing that this happened and we feel a little sad about it.
In the previous story published by Stuff on Jan. 18, Jill McAsey said she asked the SPCA to investigate the standard of care at the Awahuri Cat Motel after what should have been a routine pick-up service ended in confusion and tears.
When McAsey went to pick up her beloved Pepper on January 6, she was given a litter box with another cat in it. Pepper is still missing to this day.
The cattery’s co-owner, Veronica Waterhouse, said the manager was unwell at the time and had to go to hospital and was “relieved of his duties”.
“We are, of course, very sorry and have apologized to Missy’s owners,” she said.
While preparing the company for sale, Waterhouse said they were both terrible accidents, Pepper’s disappearance and Missy’s misplacement.
“I wish we could change it, but we can’t.”