If you have been following along over the past few months you may recall a story that has all the twists and turns fitting for a Netflix series. This story features “Bob the Cat” and his adventures from Kansas to North Carolina which included a name change and an intense custody battle. If you haven’t been keeping up here’s a brief timeline of Bob the Cat’s adventures.
- Carol Homes in Kansas is the original owner of Bob the Cat and adopted him in 2013. Our friend Bob ran away from home.
- Bob was later found by Alex Streight in 2014 right before her family moved to North Carolina. Streight said that she took Bob to the vet and he was not microchipped so she adopted him. Streight has been taking care of Bob for nearly ten years in North Carolina and one day Bob got away from her. Later Bob was found in the neighborhood and taken to a veterinarian by a neighbor.
- Streight located Bob at the vet but was told she was not the owner of the cat and therefore she could not take him home. You have not heard the last from Streight as she has pursued legal action.
- While at the vet it was determined that Bob was microchipped and identified Holmes in Kansas as the owner. Wake County Animal Services determined Holmes was the owner and Bob should be returned to her.
- Holmes was in Kansas and wanted to get Bob quickly before the courts got involved. Holmes’s cousin Jennifer Manella lived in North Carolina and came to Wake County to pick up Bob. The plan was for Carol to reunite with her cat after ten years of missing him.
This story seems like it’s headed for a happy ending for Holmes but here comes the plot twist. That exchange between the two relatives never happened and Holmes has not heard from Manella.
“I really felt like she just, she intentionally stole my cat,” Holmes said about Manella.
WRAL 5 On Your Side stepped in to get answers and apparently, Manella claims Wake County Animal Services allowed her to adopt Bob and she has the paperwork to prove it. Wake County Animal Services told WRAL that the form Manella signed was a redemption form and not an adoption one.
To add more crazy to this story, the company that chipped Bob allowed Manella to change the chip info to her name. Manella told WRAL in a phone call she will fight to the death for Bob because he’s happy here.
Stay tuned because I’m sure this story is not over as the next phase could be a legal battle in court. Also, what will Streight do?
Read more about this crazy cat custody battle here
