Beloved Mt Eden supermarket cat rehomed after ransom demands and abuse

Sybil the cat was often on the Mt Eden community Facebook pages as fans posted about their adventures with the vivacious feline.

• The ex-owners of Sybil, a beloved community cat, say they surrendered her for her own safety.
• Sybil survived catnappings, ransom demands, and was shot at with a BB gun.
• She has been rehomed with a couple in their 70s in an effort to ensure her safety.

The former owners of a beloved community cat have revealed the reason behind her sudden disappearance from her regular post outside a supermarket in Mt Eden, Auckland.

When Sybil the cat, a frequent figure on the Mt Eden community Facebook page and icon among residents, appeared for adoption on the SPCA website last month, locals were outraged.

However, the cat’s owners told the Herald removing her from the community that adored her was the only way to keep her safe after she was kidnapped, held for ransom and shot at with BB guns.

Sybil the cat was an icon in Mt Eden before her owners rehomed her because of safety concerns.

Sybil’s former owners - who wished to remain anonymous - adopted her from the SPCA in 2017 when she was 3 months old, and had envisioned having Sybil in their lives forever, they told the Herald.

“Her original name was Ivy Mclively; that should have given us a clue about her personality,” they said.

As soon as Sybil discovered the Woolworths supermarket in Mt Eden, and all the people there, she never looked back, they said.

Sybil’s curious and friendly personality quickly endeared her to regulars, as she jumped into supermarket bags, into laps and onto the bonnets of parked cars.

She became a frequent feature of the Mt Eden community page on Facebook, members sharing their daily interactions with the beloved cat.

Sybil's ex-owners said although she was loved by many, a minority maltreated her.

“People loved Sybil so much, and the majority of the community looked out for her but there was a flip side no one really saw.”

Her previous owner said the first thing that started was the phone calls.

Sybil wore a collar that told shoppers she was “not lost”, she was well fed and to only phone if she was somewhere other than the Woolworths parking lot.

“We would get lecturing, angry, aggressive phone calls from people all hours of the night ... people were disgusted that we would let her be there.”

Despite the collar explaining she was not lost, people would take Sybil to their homes. Her owners drove all over Auckland to pick her up.

Sybil has been catnapped and shot at with BB guns.

Another time, a parent took Sybil home for their child to play with.

“When they were done playing with her they brought her back to Woolworths. We were so worried.”

It happened again when a flat of women in their early 20s believed they could provide Sybil with “a better home” and kept her for several months.

At the beginning of this year, the kidnappings and violence towards Sybil began to ramp up, her former owners said, including a ransom note demanding hundreds of dollars.

“It was extremely distressing.”

Sybil’s owners said rehoming her was the difficult choice they made to keep her safe.

They said the worst incident was receiving a call that Sybil had been shot at by a group of BB gun-wielding boys.

Keeping her inside was not an option, they said, as she would sneak out.

“She was only happy at [Woolworths] getting attention from people.”

The final straw was a month-long catnapping that ended at the SPCA, where a staffer suggested rehoming Sybil.

“They said they would find her a lovely home where she wouldn’t be around any shops...it’s what she and us both deserved.”

The Herald spoke to Sybil’s new owners a day after they finalised the adoption, who said they were already smitten with their new family member.

The retired couple in their 70s wished to remain anonymous, and said they did not know about Sybil’s previous fame before they adopted her.

“We were looking for a mature cat rather than a kitten because of our age,” they said.

“She was very attractive, very talkative...we took her straight after meeting her.”

Sybil has since been adopted from Auckland SPCA and is reportedly settling well into her new home.

Woolworths Mt Eden manager Ian Samu said Sybil was much-loved at the supermarket.

“While we are saddened to hear that she will no longer be making appearances, we’re happy to hear that she has a new home.”

Her new owners said she had settled into her new home, which features a large outdoor “catio” and they were already “besotted” with her.

“She has a home here for the rest of her life.”

Rachel Maher is an Auckland-based reporter who covers breaking news. She has worked for the Herald since 2022.

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