When Timmy DeJordy of Edmonton bought a new mattress, she gave her old set to Sleep Country Canada, a major mattress retailer whose donation program provides beds to charitable organizations throughout the country. The delivery guys wrapped up DeJordy’s old, double-sized mattress and took it away. The next morning, DeJordy’s 17-year-old cat, Precious, was gone.
Her sister reminded her that Precious had a habit of hiding in the old bed, so DeJordy called Sleep Country. Several employees searched through dozens of donated mattresses before finding the frightened feline hiding in a box spring. A Sleep Country manager delivered the slightly stressed, but otherwise okay, Precious back home to DeJordy.
This isn’t the first time a cat has made the news for being accidentally donated along with furniture.
Last year, Vickie Mendenhall in Spokane, Washington purchased a secondhand couch for $27. Not a bad deal for a couch that meows. She and her boyfriend heard the mysterious meowing in their home for days before something moved beneath the cushions, and they were able to pin down its source. They discovered a hungry calico cat inside the couch.
The store had no idea who had donated the couch (and apparently knew nothing about the cat). Luckily, Mendenhall worked at an animal shelter. She brought the cat in for care and contacted the media. After the couch cat’s story aired on TV, Bob Killion showed up — his 9-year-old cat, Callie, had been missing since he’d made the furniture donation weeks earlier.
I wonder how often this happens and doesn’t make the news. Cats love to hide (How many people with cats have intact box springs?), and when there’s chaos, like furniture moving, that’s usually when they make themselves scarce. The first time I moved with my cat, Ophelia, I was worried she’d somehow slipped outside as we were packing up the truck. After about half an hour of searching the entire house and the yard, she finally poked her head out from inside my roommate’s recliner.
Precious and Callie must have been terrified to stay put for so long. The cats who disappear on moving day, and don’t make the news, most likely leave their hiding places somewhere along the way and join the ranks of stray cats who don’t have great odds for being reunited with their families.
Whenever you’re moving furniture out of your house, secure your cat in another room. That way you don’t have to worry about her escaping, or accidentally going along for the ride. And even if you have indoor cats, it’s always a good idea to make sure they’re wearing tags on moving day, just in case.
Photo credit: Orin Zebest
