Thrift Store Gets Late-Night Donation – But A Strange Noise Coming From The Chair Has Them Running…
It’s true that you never know what you’re going to find at a thrift store. But usually, a furniture find is not a buy 1, get a free animal.
Except, that’s exactly what the Denver Arc Store got when they took in a recent donation of a recliner. A family, who was preparing to move, dropped off their old recliner for donation. What they didn’t know was that inside was their quite unhappy cat, Montequlla. The poor feline was not a fan of the family relocating and had, unbeknownst to his owners, found a safe spot in the recliner.
A cranky Montequlla meows before being rescued. Photo courtesy of Denver Department of Public Health & Environment
Employees at the thrift store said they heard a strange noise, and suddenly realized it was a cat meowing. Racing toward the sound, they couldn’t believe it, the Denver Animal Protection (DAP) said. Inside the recliner was a very stuck orange cat – and he was clearly unhappy at his current situation. “Sure enough, there’s a recliner out front, and there’s a little orange tabby stuck inside,” DAP officer Jenna Humphreys said. “Very friendly, couldn’t get out.”
They [store staff] said that they had noticed the meowing shortly after somebody had dropped it off.”
Humphreys said it took a bit of time, but she was able to lure the cranky cat out of the recliner and then scanned him to see if he was micro-chipped. Thankfully, he was. DAP officials tried to contact Montequlla’s owners but had trouble reaching them by phone.
Montequlla is snuggled by his happy owner. Photo courtesy of Denver Department of Public Health & Environment
That’s because his owners were out frantically searching for the cat at the same time, completely unaware that Montequlla had made himself a hiding spot in their donated recliner. Eventually, it dawned on them that the cat must have been hiding in the donated furniture and raced over to the store. Staff put them in touch with Humphreys, who were able to get the bewildered cat back to his owners.
Humphreys said that in times of stress – like moving – animals often find comfort in odd places they normally wouldn’t hide in. “Oftentimes, when we have a stressful event like that, we know that animals can seek hiding spots. So, this one just happened to pick the recliner that they were going to donate to Arc,” she said. ” It’s not uncommon for us to be called to help remove animals from those situations, but this was a new one.”
The cat’s family was “absolutely thrilled” to have their furry family member back. “They were so relieved,” Humphreys said. At the end of the day, Montequlla made it home and the thrift store was able to keep the recliner, which had no other unexpected guests. “We are so happy for the ending to this story and are thankful to everyone involved in getting this sweet cat home safely,” DAP said.
