After five weeks in exile, Peaches, the stowaway cat, is headed home.
Back in August the gray tabby cat climbed inside a sofa just as it was being donated to a thrift store. Neither Peaches’ family, nor the truck drivers, nor the the store owners, were aware that the green couch hid a secret passenger.
Stephanie Cunningham of Cumming went to the No Longer Bound Thrift Store the next day, and said "I'm going to ask you the strangest question you've ever heard, but did a cat come with any of these couches?" No one had seen a cat, because Peaches was keeping quiet.
"They looked at me like I had three eyes," said Cunningham. (Oddly enough, it wasn't the first time a cat ended up in a thrift store, by way of couch.)
Then some strange things began happening at the store at 315 Dahlonega Street. Something kept tripping the motion sensors at night, but there was no evidence of any unlawful entry.
Finally, weeks later, Peaches made an appearance on a security camera. Store employee Crystal Streetman carefully lured the hungry cat out of a hole in the wall, and took her home. Streetman knew that a couch-donor was looking for a cat, but unfortunately no one at the store had recorded any contact information.
The 8-pound kitty's rightful owners found out about her recovery after we wrote about it in the AJC and a friend called the Cunninghams to tell them about the story.
“I was shaking all morning,” said Stephanie Cunningham on Friday. She had almost given up on ever seeing Peaches again. “My kids were devastated.”
Peaches is a very shy cat, and when new people come into the house she hides, either under the bed or in the liner of the couch. She just picked a bad day to hide inside a sofa.
The Cunninghams plan to pick up Peaches Saturday at No Longer Bound. The store is a non-profit operation that benefits a recovery program for men addicted to drugs or alcohol.
Stephanie and Kirk Cunningham and their children, Cole, 16 and Reese, 14, will be happy to have Peaches back in the house. “Reese just had a birthday,” said Stephanie, “and she said this was the best late birthday present ever.”
About the Author
