Jenna Groatmiller rarely went to pick up the mail. Usually her husband picked it up on his way home, but on a late-October day, she and her daughter walked to the mailbox.
As Groatmiller retrieved the mail, her daughter Evie, spotting a poster on the mailbox, asked, “Mom, is that Missy?”
The cat looked exactly like the one that had been living under the front porch of their Milton home for about a month, taking up residence there after a skunk had been removed. The Groatmillers were about to fill in the hole that gave the animals access, until they discovered the cat. Over the next month, they left out food and treats.
“It wouldn’t let anyone come near her,” Groatmiller said. “It was way too skittish.”
It had been a few days since they last saw Missy, as Evie had named her, but when they got home from the mailbox, there she was, asleep on the front lawn.
Groatmiller called the number on the poster. Megan Vincent was still in the neighbourhood putting up posters. It had only been 20 minutes since she stuck one to the mailbox.
Vincent rushed over, and sure enough, there was Tellie, her four-year-old Torbie who had gone missing two-and-a-half months ago from her parents home in Georgetown, 20 kilometres away.
“My mind was blown,” Vincent said, “but I knew if any cat could keep herself alive, it would be her. She’s so smart.”
It had taken Vincent three months after adopting Tillie to socialize her, but she still remained timid around strangers. So even with Vincent there, Tillie bolted.
It was tough being so close, but at least Vincent knew for sure Tillie was alive. There were times when hope would start to wane, but then there would be a sighting and renewed hope.
Vincent’s biggest concern was Tellie having epilepsy. While she may have been smart enough to elude predators, if she had a seizure, she would be defenseless.
Vincent borrowed traps from a rescue and set them up around Groatmiller’s home. Neighbours sent doorbell camera videos to her of Tellie roaming the neighbourhood. They even watched as Tellie suspiciously investigated the trap, but refused to enter it. Then when she did, the trap didn’t close.
Finally, after three days, Tellie’s 77-day adventure came to an end when they were able to catch her.
The unlikely reunion ended a months-long search since Tellie went missing Aug. 12.
“(My partner) Steve and I love her so much,” Vincent said. “It’s been a rough go for Steve and I. We needed a win.”
“We were just happy to be part of the solution,” Groatmiller said. “The puzzle pieces couldn’t have fit together better.”
Vincent grew up in Georgetown, but now lives in Toronto. Her parents were cat sitting when a visitor left a door open and Tellie got out. They began searching the neighbourhood, putting up posters, and posting on lost pet Facebook pages for Georgetown and Halton.
Each time there would be a Tellie sighting, Vincent and her partner would drive to Georgetown and start searching. Students at nearby Harrison Public School also became invested in the search.
“So many people in Georgetown were fantastic,” Vincent said. “We had kids coming out on bikes to help look for her.”
Despite some good leads, they were never able to find Tellie. Eventually, the sightings became less frequent or they turned out be other cats.
Vincent refused to give up hope of finding Tellie, who got her name from her habit of chasing the horses on the TV screen as the couple watched Yellowstone. And with Steve working in the music industry, a friend dubbed her Telecatster, after Telecaster guitars.
The big break in the case of the missing cat came when a man in Milton took the post from the Lost Pets of Halton site and posted it on Lost Pets of Milton. Remarkably, that led to sightings in Milton. Someone was even able to get a picture and Vincent compared the markings and sure enough, it looked exactly like Tellie.
That led to Vincent’s trip to Milton to put up the poster that Groatmiller and her daughter saw on the mailbox.
“We have no idea how she got to Milton,” Vincent said. “We think she may have crawled into a work truck.”
The couple had been offering a $1,000 reward, which they gave to Evie. Most of all, Vincent said they are so thankful to have Tellie home.
“We met so many amazing people, so many people who were willing to come out and search with us, lend us traps and help us find her. It’s such a miracle.”
“They are amazing pet owners,” Groatmiller said. “I’m so glad she gets to go home to a caring home where they really cherish her.”
Anyone wanting update on Tellie can follow her on Instagram, @tele_cat_ster.
