A Marton man is calling for calm after the disappearance of a popular local moggy has angered locals.
Rodney the cat was adopted by the local ITM building supplies store a few years back and was a regular at the checkouts, soaking up pats from customers.
Last week the tabby cat vanished, but after a concerned customer started digging around it was revealed a manager at ITM had taken Rodney out to a remote country location and left him there.
It has caused outrage and volunteers have been out searching for Rodney.
ITM Marton has put out a statement apologising for the cat's treatment. It says the branch manager has stepped down temporarily and the store is donating $1000 to a local cat charity.
But now the store is getting nasty calls and death threats. Jack Stantiall used to manage the branch and was actually the one who took Rodney in as a kitten.
He told Checkpoint people need to take a deep breath.
