Auckland family frustrated after Trade Me seller drives off with pet cat

Auckland woman Ali Ritchie says Cliff (left) has been distraught since her other cat Millie (right) went missing this week.

An Auckland family are frustrated after a Trade Me seller mistakenly drove off with their cat Millie and didn't tell them until they realised she was missing a day later.

Ali Ritchie was getting a wall unit delivered to her Sandringham home on Tuesday night when her cat disappeared.

The next day, she discovered the seller who sold her the unit accidentally drove off with Millie in his car.

"As he was dropping it off he parked down our driveway, he left his car open and I think our cat must've crawled in," Ms Ritchie told 1 NEWS.

"She doesn't usually make a habit of going in cars and as soon as a car does go, when she's in the car, she meows."

Adding to the stress, the seller didn't get in touch and Ms Ritichie only found out what happened the next day, when she contacted him about the missing cat.

He said that he heard a meow in his car and kept driving, then he heard another meow so he pulled over and let her out of his driver's seat door," she says.

Ali wishes he contacted her that night when he found the cat, instead of almost a day later.

"I'm really gutted that he didn't think to text us that night and just say, 'Hey, your cat was in our car,' you know? Because we would have gone out looking for her."

Instead, the seller told Ms Ritchie he'd let the cat out on a nearby road, thinking she'd make her way home.

Millie was missing for several days before finally being found tonight, with the family worried the worst had happened.

"Our other cat, Cliff, is very distressed at the moment and is pining for her, it's just a nightmare... they're joined at the hip."

The family's three-year-old daughter also struggled to comprehend what happened to their beloved Millie.

"It's really hard for her to understand what's happened to her and understand why she's not at home, she's upset," Ms Ritchie says.

After posting on their community Facebook pages and putting out flyers, a neighbour contacted Ms Ritchie tonight to say they'd found Millie and helped safely return her to her home, to the family's joy.

As for the Trade Me seller who didn't let them know he'd taken Millie, Ms Ritchie says he won't be getting positive feedback.

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