Author Topic: Please help me find Grapelli - his owner is 3 and 1/2 with special needs and heartbroken- FOUND!!!!  (Read 34000 times)

Offline maryas

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The photo of all 3 of them re-united is fantastic.  :hug: :Luv2:

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Offline funkiechicken

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What a wonderful photo of them all !!  :Luv2:  :Luv2:

Great to see such a happy outcome!! ;D ;D
Proves that hope and most of all time & public knowledge really works  :)  :) :)
 :hug:  :hug:

P.S ermm...we also need to "coo & Aww" over your new kittens  :shify: its like a drug  :shify:
 :rofl:

x
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Offline JenGeorgieBob

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so glad to see he has settled back in at home and is doing well!  :Luv2:
some pics of the new kittens are needed though! and yes their antics can be amusing and hair raising. I am still waiting for my 2 to calm down a bit, but with the christmas tree up and Gingers new found habit of curtain climbing (at 1 and a half now, a late learner) I can't see them calming down all that soon...
...pick yourself up, dust yourself off, start all over again...

Offline Sam (Fussy_Furball)

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 :Luv2: :Luv2: :Luv2: :Luv2: :Luv2: :Luv2:  thanks for sharing such a lovely photo.
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Offline Rosella moggy

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What a spectacular photo  :wow:  Just beautiful; all three of them  :) :) :) :) :) :)

Congrats on the new kitties as well. Pics?   :shy:

Life can be just so wonderful at times  :hug:

Offline Sue P (Paddysmum)

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Doesn't knowing the outcome of this story make you feel absolutely glowing inside?   ;D  The look on their faces. 

Offline Dawn F

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great to see, and doesn't he look huge!!!

Offline Tiggy's Mum

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Just wonderful :)

Offline Stuart

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Dad to Bridge babes Hamish, Misty, Olivia and Robbie :'(

Offline Gill (sneakiefeline)

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Grapelli looks fantastic  ;D

Offline lex20874

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and finally a picture of Grappelli and his children.....and guess who's been spoilt rotten since his return...

I also have 2 kittens now (local rescue centre) and I had forgotten just how lively and monkey like they can be!! They climb curtains, jump over the sleeping labrador, and try and play with my baby's toys.... photos coming up soon.

Thanks again everyone!!!!

Offline funkiechicken

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 :Flowers:

Amazing!! I'm so pleased Grapelli is re-united with his family xx
 :cuddle:

xx
Cats are independent, don't listen, don't come in when you call, stay out all night and when they're home they like to be left alone to sleep....Every quality that Women HATE in a Man, they LOVE in a Cat...

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Offline Sam (Fussy_Furball)

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Would loveto see a pic of Grapelli with your nephew ... I bet he is over joyed to have his best mate back.
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Offline Tan

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 :Party 3: :clap: :clap:  Oh that's so fantastic  ;D ;D ;D ;D

Offline AliCat

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Congratulations! That is wonderful, wonderful news!!!

Offline fluffybunny

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Oh that's just so wonderful, I'm thrilled to hear this  :wow:  I think with both this one and Lia, the valuable lesson is that if they're somewhere completely unfamiliar, they're likely to stick around nearby and raising awareness locally and persistance can definitely pay off.  Fantastic news  :wow: :wow:
« Last Edit: November 19, 2011, 14:24:20 PM by fluffybunny »

Offline Stuart

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Thank You So Much For the Update  :) and a HUGE Thank you to the Folk at Dobbies, cause if it weren't for them Grapelli would
Still be  :scared:

And it just goes to show, Never give up Hope for the AWOL's  ;)

I so Love Happy endings  :briggin:
« Last Edit: November 19, 2011, 13:45:11 PM by Stuart »
Dad to Bridge babes Hamish, Misty, Olivia and Robbie :'(

Offline Rosella moggy

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Thanks a million for the update.  Am in tears again.  Sniff sniff.  Just wonderful   :) :) :) :) :)

Offline sheilarose

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Have sent a thank-you e-mail to Dobbies, Ashford.  :thanks: :thanks: :thanks:

This sort of thing restores my faith in human nature, and with all the troubles in the world just now, a little bit of thoughtfulness makes a huge difference.

For our lovely Jen  :cuddle:

Offline Sue P (Paddysmum)

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Well done to the lovely people at Dobbies, and to you both for not giving up hope.   :wow:

Offline Janeyk

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So pleased there was such a happy ending to all this, you must be absolutely thrilled !  :hug:
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Offline Tiggy's Mum

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Can't help but re-read that, such a wonderful ending :) Thanks for updating us :)

What amazing timing to find him in the short time you both were in Ashford and what dedication to go searching with a 7 month old baby in tow!

Offline Gill (sneakiefeline)

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What a great story and so pleased that Grapelli managed to scavenge just enough, and the weather did not go like last year.

Just makes me so happy he is home  ;D ;D ;D ;D

Offline maryas

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Thanks for the full story on his 'capture'  ;) :Luv2:

So many helpful , kind people.

Amazing how he is just acting like normal and so glad he wasn't stressed or injured.

Would be lovely to see a pic of him when he is settled with the children.

Mary

 :congrats:
Love me, love my cat - don't love my cat... S*D off! R.I.P Smudgie - sleep well my precious little darling, I miss you so much. 01.02.94-15.04.08 x Look after the beautiful Bonnie Bum, I took her pain away 02.04.15 x Tisha was with me 3 weeks and then I had to take her pain away 1.7.15 x

Offline lex20874

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Hi sorry I am finally back home (had trouble with rats so only just returned to my own house tonight) so I can give you the full story.

My sister booked her flight last weekend to arrive on Tuesday. I was packing my bags on Monday afternoon in preparation for the trip to Ashford when I got a call from Dobbies the Garden centre to say they thought they had just seen him go past a window whilst in a staff meeting. I was so excited but I didn't want to believe it was him just in case... the lady at Dobbies told me to come and see Oliver the Manager when we arrived on tuesday. I picked my sister up from Gatwick on tuesday and got to Ashford in the afternoon. We dropped off our things at the hotel and went to  Dobbies. The manager was a really nice chap who took us round to the side of the store to show us where they saw him and then told us he believe he saw him again that morning! he was 90% sure it was him, my sister was in tears but we still didn't want to get carried away.
We formulated a plan and I went to a local RSPCA fileld officer to pick up a trap. We set the trap on the 'route' where he was seen and waited and waited and waited. We spotted the local black cat and made sure he didn't go in the trap but by 10.30pm there was still too much traffic and it was getting so cold with a 7 months old human baby in tow, we thought it would be better to go to bed and start again before sunrise when it is so quiet he would hear her better.
My sister went out just before 6am and at 6.35am came back in tears with Grapelli in her arms!! She saws his paws under a fence and called him again and laid flat on the ground not to spook him, and he came to see her so she grabbed him but he was so happy to see her he wasn;t going to go anywhere.
 
He is now back with his children in France after an overnight stay in Paris, a train and a ferry! He is very thin but overall in good condition, we took him to be checked by a vet before transporting him back to France. It is amazing how quickly he reverted back to his lazy nature and laid back self!! Purring and sleeping on the hotel bed. He has definately been scanvenging as he was looking in everybag we had for food and tearing plastic carrier bags to get to a lemon cake!!

The only person's name I have at Dobbies is Oliver, the Manager. I think it was a few of the staff who spotted Grapelli in the meeting but really Oliver was great and talked to us for ages and said they would put chicken out that night to keep him in the area and asked if he could do anything to help us so we are very grateful to him. We did go back to see him and hugged him....twice!

To answer the question about distance, Grapelli did stay very close to where he escaped as the Garden centre was no more than 200 yards from the Travelodge where he escaped. I think we were lucky ( and so was Grapelli) that he escaped in a place surrounded by fast food outlets and kitchens!!

It is now going to take me 2 weeks to inform everyone I emailed and update all the websites!! But the hard work and determination was worth it!

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR HELP, A SPECIAL THANKS TO JEN FOR ALL SHE HAS DONE FOR US!!! I hope one day I can repay the favour and help a fellow animal lover.
 
So that's it the search is over, it is now going to take me 2 weeks to get in touch with everyone I emailed and all the websites I registered him with and all the businesses I put posters in !!!!

Offline maryas

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And so say all of us Stuart.  No need for words with all those dancing chaps.  :rofl:

Mary
Love me, love my cat - don't love my cat... S*D off! R.I.P Smudgie - sleep well my precious little darling, I miss you so much. 01.02.94-15.04.08 x Look after the beautiful Bonnie Bum, I took her pain away 02.04.15 x Tisha was with me 3 weeks and then I had to take her pain away 1.7.15 x

Offline Stuart

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:cheer: :dance: :cheer:    :cheer: :dance: :cheer:    :cheer: :dance: :cheer:

 :yayyy: :narna dance: :yayyy:    :yayyy: :narna dance: :yayyy:    :yayyy: :narna dance: :yayyy:    :yayyy: :narna dance: :yayyy:

 :chicken: :chicken: :chicken: :chicken: :chicken: :chicken: :chicken: :chicken:  :chicken: :chicken: :chicken: :chicken: :chicken:

 :happy dance: :happy dance: :happy dance: :happy dance: :happy dance: :happy dance: :happy dance: :happy dance: :happy dance: :happy dance: :happy dance: :happy dance: :happy dance:

erm..........Do I need to say Anything ??  :evil larf 2:
« Last Edit: November 17, 2011, 15:03:09 PM by Stuart »
Dad to Bridge babes Hamish, Misty, Olivia and Robbie :'(

Offline souffle

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I'm absolutely thrilled for you :)
You never gave up and you should be proud of yourself.
What a wonderful ending to this story and I can't wait to see pics of the puss x
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Offline Sue P (Paddysmum)

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Oh Wow, I'm so delighted to read that Grapelli has been found.  This is brilliant news.  Thoroughly made my day.   :wow: :wow: 

Offline Elle CatRescueUK

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Very happy to hear about Grapelli  :Luv: Truely wonderful news. xxx
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Offline Rosella moggy

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Call off the search......we HAVE him! At 6am this morning after calling him the previous night for hours on end, we took a break and went to bed. ny sister went back out before sunrise hoping in the quiet of the morning he would hear her, and he did!
Thank you so much to all of you for all your help and comforting words, you gave me faith and strength to keep searching! Thank you a million times and I hope other cats lovers get fortunate too and their furry friend return for Christmas!
 :thanks: :thanks: :thanks: 

Am requoting this to save others searching below to make sure it's true.  Brought tears to my eyes  :) :) :)

Just the most completely fabulous news  :yayyy: :dance: :yayyy:

Hope he is OK  :hug: :hug: :hug: :hug:

Offline maryas

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OMG I can't believe my eyes - the headline on Purrs says Grapelli has been found.

I am so happy for everyone and can't wait to hear the story.

Mary  :hug:
Love me, love my cat - don't love my cat... S*D off! R.I.P Smudgie - sleep well my precious little darling, I miss you so much. 01.02.94-15.04.08 x Look after the beautiful Bonnie Bum, I took her pain away 02.04.15 x Tisha was with me 3 weeks and then I had to take her pain away 1.7.15 x

Offline Zenith (Liz)

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What amazing news! :D

Thank you for cheering me up

Offline snarf

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;D  Brilliant news!  (was confused at first as the link goes to the 1st page  :doh:)
me too  :shy:
this is amazing news! Fantastic, well done to you and all involved for not giving up

Offline cazzer

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wonderful news!     So pleased for you all  :wow:
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Offline nickynoo93

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Fantastic news, well done to you for caring so much about your sisters cat.

Nicky

Offline Janeyk

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 ;D  Brilliant news!  (was confused at first as the link goes to the 1st page  :doh:)
Please consider the harder to home cats in rescue.

Offline thekittensmittens

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WOW :wow:  Just read this! so glad he was found at long last..i bet hes going to be spoilt tons now :Luv2:

Online Liz

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Its not unusal not to see a missing cat as they become nocturnal and you do get odd looks in built up area's walking the streets in the wee small hours

I know trapping our own after the great escape led by Tiger feral and a broken window we never saw Clio or Dova ferals and both were found in traps about half a mile down our track
Liz and the Clan Cats and Dogs

Offline Tiggy's Mum

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Amazing - that has absolutely made my day, actually make that week  :wow:

How close to the hotel was he found, is he OK healthwise? I bet your sister is over the moon, can only imagine how your nephew will react  :)

This calls for a dancing banana chicken combo  :wooooo: :yayyy: :chicken: :narna dance:

Sorry to hear about your friends' cats Mymblesdaughter  :hug:

 


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