March 16, 2009

Nine-year-old Callie, pictured above, was rescued on Tuesday, after being stuck in a used couch for two weeks. (AP)

SPOKANE, Wash. -- At $27, the used couch was a bargain -- buyer Vicki Mendenhall, though, never suspected that a cat came along with the deal.

Mendenhall, of Spokane, Wash., discovered a calico cat inside of the couch on Tuesday afternoon -- two weeks after the cat snuggled into its hiding spot.

On Thursday afternoon, the cat was returned to its owner, Bob Killion, who saw a media report about the cat on TV, The Spokesman Review reported.

It's been a long journey for 9-year-old Callie, after Killion, also of Spokane, dropped off his used couch at a local Value Village store on Feb. 19. His cat had disappeared around the same time, but Killion did not initially connect the improbable dots.

Mendenhall, 32, also never suspected to find a furry surprise in her couch, even though her son Tyler, 9, began to theorize that the house was haunted by a cat.

She says she had heard a faint meowing in the house over the past few weeks, but when she began to search for an animal, the noise ceased.

"We thought it was coming through vents in the house," Mendenhall explained.

On Tuesday, Mendenhall's boyfriend, Chris Lund, also heard the noise while he was watching TV -- and felt something bulging beneath him on the couch. He lifted up the couch pillow, only to reveal Callie, who was reportedly unharmed, yet hungry and dehydrated.

Mendenhall, who works at SpokAnimal C.A.R.E., a local humane society, brought the cat to its clinic. She then contacted media outlets, hoping to reach the cat's missing owner. The plan worked.

Killion, who was diagnosed with a brain tumor in May 2001, was apparently overjoyed to locate Callie, whom he has claimed with easing the stress of his medical problems.

Callie reportedly showed a similar appreciation for her owner at the time of their reunion.

"When we got her out, she was giving me that look: 'Thanks for getting me out of there,' " Killion said.

Two weeks ago, on a different coast, another cat found herself in a similarly binding situation, as Zootoo Pet News originally reported.

Autumn the domestic short-hair wedged her way between a discarded mattress and box-spring on Feb. 14, when deliverymen carted the old set away from her family's Richmond, Va., home.

The cat remained stuck there for nearly a week, before one Hayne Furniture warehouse employee also heard a faint, but distinct, "meow."

Wilbert Davis was just about to chuck the bound mattress and box-spring into a landfill when he suspected something was askew.

"When I moved a particular item, there was something about it that I felt was just off. It was strange," Davis told ZT Pet News.

He ripped the mattress and box-spring apart, and found Autumn, splayed flat against the space between the two.

Though also dehydrated, hungry and perhaps a bit uncomfortable, Autumn was found to be in good health and returned to her thankful family a few days later.

Zootoo Pet News reporter Amy Lieberman, The Associated Press and The Spokesman Review contributed to this article.