Vancouver man accidentally sells couch with stowaway cat

A Vancouver, B.C. man thought his cat was missing, but it turned out Marley was hiding inside a couch that his owner sold.

Matt Lumabi was moving into his new place in Vancouver when he thought his cat, Marley, had run away.

“I had a couch that I got from some movers and I didn’t need it anymore,” Lumabi told Global News. “So I was selling it on Facebook marketplace, and I guess when I was selling it, Marley crawled underneath the couch, which we didn’t notice.”

She somehow got into the couch and was taken away by the buyers, Lumabi said.

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The couch then made its way to Steveston, but was soonafter resold to another buyer.

“They (sold) the couch and the guy who bought the couch from them found her,” Lumabi. “The couch has a pouch underneath for the legs. She must have burrowed down in there for about three days.”

Before the cat was found, Lumabi was worried sick. He said he tore his new place apart looking for her, searching the surrounding neighbourhood, using community social media groups, and putting up posters.

“(The person I sold the couch to) messaged me and said (the new couch owners) found her. They said, ‘hey, there is a cat in the couch,’” he said. “I was calling vets, shelters, and the SPCA. I had a few sleepless nights.”

Lumabi said his three-year-old cat is happy to be home and has been more “cuddly” than normal.

A Maple Ridge vet said three days without food and water for a cat is not as big an issue as most would think.

“Cats are desert animals. While we think people couldn’t live without food or water for three days, cats can go several days and be just fine,” said Dr. Adrian Walton.

“I think the cat was terrified and that’s part of the reason (why the cat hid in the couch).”

Although cats are desert animals, Dr. Walton recommends if one hasn’t eaten or had water in three days they are brought to a clinic for an evaluation.

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