The family were in a “state of disbelief” their beloved cat, Beans, had been found after the blaze, having earlier had to break the hard news to their 2-year-old daughter that she was missing.
An unknown number of pets were unaccounted for after the fire on Saturday night, which broke out at the CareVets Kilbirnie clinic and cattery. Yesterday clinic owner Nick Cooper confirmed it was four cats that had escaped the building on the night, two of which had since been found.
Fire and Emergency have yet to release the suspected cause of the fire, and owners and staff have not yet been let back inside the building.
Nick Cooper outside CareVets cattery in Kilbirnie after the fire. Photo / Rachel Helyer-Donaldson, RNZ
Wellington couple Liv and Alex, who don’t want their surnames used, said they had left 13-year-old Beans and their other cat, Loki, at the cattery for six weeks while having home renovations done, and were due to collect them next weekend.
Liv bought Beans as a rescue kitten for Alex’s 21st birthday, and it was Beans’ birthday on Sunday, the day after the fire, she said.
“On Sunday morning we woke up to a text from Linda, the cattery manager, to say that there had been a fire just after midnight, and that Beans and Loki had been transferred to the After Hours Vet clinic to be checked out,” Liv said.
“Later on Sunday afternoon we received a call from a very apologetic Linda who mentioned that there had been a mix up, and that Beans was missing. She mentioned that several cats had escaped during the rescue process, and weren’t in the building.”
The couple were “devastated” and immediately went to search around the cattery area for Beans, with no luck.
Alex visited Beans at the vet after she was found on Monday.
Feral Nation Rescue founder Jody helped Liv craft a social media post so locals could help keep an eye out for Beans.
“We were overwhelmed and grateful for the community support and help that people offered, to keep an eye out for her and to try and look for her on Monday morning,” Liv said.
Alex returned to search again in the evening, again with no success.
“The worst-case scenario went through our heads.”
The couple had to tell their 2-year-old daughter Beans was missing when the child came with them to search for the cat.
“It was heartbreaking explaining to her that Beans is hiding and we can’t find her, when she insisted that she ‘wanted to see Beans now’.”
Fear turned to joy yesterday when Alex discovered a missed call and message from the cattery manager saying Beans had been found on Monday and was being checked over by a vet.
“Beans found her way into one of the traps that the CareVets Kilbirnie team set up in the car park,” Liv said. “We think it helped that volunteers from Kitty Kingdom Wellington put some KFC in the traps to help lure the missing cats in – who can say no to KFC?”
Alex visited Beans at the vet yesterday afternoon.
Beans, 13, has been with her family since she was a kitten.
“We were in a state of disbelief that she was alive and well. The reunion was surreal and very emotional – we had feared the worst and felt guilty for not being able to say goodbye or be with her if she had passed,” Liv said.
They were “immensely grateful” to the cattery manager, CareVets team, and community for their support and actions to help find Beans safe and well.
“Beans was checked over by the vet and is healthy, she had a bit of a wheeze and [was] given medication to help her breathing, but seems to have recovered from the trauma. She is yet to have a bath to wash off the smoky smell which she won’t enjoy.
“We told our toddler that Beans had been found and she is okay now. She doesn’t quite understand as we are not living back at home yet, but is very keen to see Beans on the weekend and ‘wants to give Beans a cuddle’.”
Liv said Linda the cattery manager had “gone above and beyond to help both of our cats through this traumatic time”.
“She kept in touch with us constantly, and has continued to look for the remaining cats which haven’t been found yet.
Beans is one of the cats who escaped the building during the rescue attempt.
“Our hearts go out to the owners of the remaining cats who escaped and haven’t been found yet, and we really hope that they turn up soon.”
Liv also wanted to thank the “wonderful” community volunteers, such as Jody from Feral Nation and the team at Kitty Kingdom “for their help and support to us through what has been a difficult 24 hours”.
“We are really lucky to have these people and their organisations in our community.”
Melissa Nightingale is a Wellington-based reporter who covers crime, justice and news in the capital. She joined the Herald in 2016 and has worked as a journalist for 10 years.
