Lancet Jades
06-01-2004, 06:05 PM
Family's lost cat found nailed under floorboards
01 June 2004 http://www.stuff.co.nz/inl/images/null.gif
When the family's away. . . one very old cat will get nailed under the floorboards.
That's what happened to the Ronayne family's 19-year-old tabby, who gave up hiding in boxes to snuggle up under the floorboards while renovations were taking place at their two-storied Tauranga home.
The family of four was in the process of making extensions and renovating their home – and the upstairs layout and flooring was part of the change.
This proved disastrous for adventurous Yitty.
Building had just finished and Rob and Cameron Ronayne were happily enjoying a night in their freshly renovated home when they realised their furry friend had failed to appear for bedtime.
After searching cupboards and regular nap spots, the Ronaynes were left scratching their heads.
Then they heard a mysterious meow.
"My daughter, Elliot, heard the cat meow," Mr Ronayne said. "All of a sudden she got upset. The cat was boarded up in the floor."
The mysterious meow was below them when they were upstairs – and above them when they were downstairs.
In one part of the ceiling was a hole for a new light fitting. And it was through this that they finally spotted Yitty's furry face.
"Amid great howls of laughter I rang the builder," Mr Ronayne said. "He said to get a large screwdriver and tear up the portion of the floor – quickly before the glue dried."
Mr Ronayne pulled Yitty out of her hiding place through the light fitting hole in the ceiling.
"And she thanked me for my trouble by peeing on me. We had one very happy cat at the end of it all," Mr Ronayne said. "That cat is a complete idiot."
Builder Tim Suffex said the saga was one-of-a-kind. Yitty had seemed to dislike all the building activity.
"We don't usually accost felines in our line of work," he said.
Perhaps it's a good thing that cats are meant to have nine lives – the fearless feline is quite prone to finding herself in sticky spots, according to the Ronaynes.
When she was just three years old she got caught in, of all things, the fan-belt of the family car.
When Mr Ronayne said that when he started the engine there was "fur for Africa".
And the moral of the story?
"Never trust your builder with your cat," Mr Ronayne said.
01 June 2004 http://www.stuff.co.nz/inl/images/null.gif
When the family's away. . . one very old cat will get nailed under the floorboards.
That's what happened to the Ronayne family's 19-year-old tabby, who gave up hiding in boxes to snuggle up under the floorboards while renovations were taking place at their two-storied Tauranga home.
The family of four was in the process of making extensions and renovating their home – and the upstairs layout and flooring was part of the change.
This proved disastrous for adventurous Yitty.
Building had just finished and Rob and Cameron Ronayne were happily enjoying a night in their freshly renovated home when they realised their furry friend had failed to appear for bedtime.
After searching cupboards and regular nap spots, the Ronaynes were left scratching their heads.
Then they heard a mysterious meow.
"My daughter, Elliot, heard the cat meow," Mr Ronayne said. "All of a sudden she got upset. The cat was boarded up in the floor."
The mysterious meow was below them when they were upstairs – and above them when they were downstairs.
In one part of the ceiling was a hole for a new light fitting. And it was through this that they finally spotted Yitty's furry face.
"Amid great howls of laughter I rang the builder," Mr Ronayne said. "He said to get a large screwdriver and tear up the portion of the floor – quickly before the glue dried."
Mr Ronayne pulled Yitty out of her hiding place through the light fitting hole in the ceiling.
"And she thanked me for my trouble by peeing on me. We had one very happy cat at the end of it all," Mr Ronayne said. "That cat is a complete idiot."
Builder Tim Suffex said the saga was one-of-a-kind. Yitty had seemed to dislike all the building activity.
"We don't usually accost felines in our line of work," he said.
Perhaps it's a good thing that cats are meant to have nine lives – the fearless feline is quite prone to finding herself in sticky spots, according to the Ronaynes.
When she was just three years old she got caught in, of all things, the fan-belt of the family car.
When Mr Ronayne said that when he started the engine there was "fur for Africa".
And the moral of the story?
"Never trust your builder with your cat," Mr Ronayne said.