Community launches search for ‘Lowe’s cat’ who wandered onto semi truck during delivery
Citizens in Richmond, Virginia have launched a search for their “Lowe’s cat” who wandered onto a semi truck during a delivery and took an accidental trip.
Francine the cat, more widely known as “Lowe’s cat” to anyone who visits the West Broad street Lowe’s in Richmond, Virginia, has been living in the Lowe’s store for the last eight years. Employees say she wandered in one day and never left, until now.
On Friday, September 19th, customers and employees at the Lowe’s realized that Francine was missing, so they put out a call on social media to try to find the beloved feline, reported 6 News Richmond.
“We had a Lowe’s employee act as a whistleblower and spill the whole story that they had seen her last on security footage walking onto the back of a semi truck at this landing dock behind us on the 18th and had been driven to the regional distribution center in Garysburg, NC,” said Chas Nabi, a frequent customer at the store who helped to set up the Instagram account dedicated to finding Francine.
“And they said they actually did have a cat that they saw on the 20th on the truck. So they say they first saw the cat and they shut the doors,” said Elise Gilmore, another customer who has been helping with the search. “Their plan was to get the SPCA involved to come and pick the cat up, but then an employee, who was not aware of the situation, opened it up and she ran out into the distribution yard.”
The SPCA has set up traps in the area in hopes of catching Francine, but as of September 30th, the attempts have not been successful.
Lowe’s has made the following statement about the missing “Lowe’s Cat”:
“We are pet lovers at Lowe’s, and Francine holds a special place in our hearts. She is a local celebrity in Richmond and dearly loved by everyone in the community, from our customers to our store associates. We are grateful for the outpouring of support we have received this past week from people who love her as much as we do. The store team had Francine microchipped to help in case of a situation like this, and we are doing all we can to locate her. Our goal is to see our beloved Francine back in the store soon, safe and in good health. We thank everyone for keeping an eye out. If anyone sees her, we urge them to contact the store.”