Courageous cat staying put for now

Tebow the cat will stay put in Tipton, at least for now.

After hitching a ride under a spare tire and traveling the 80 miles from Mount Pleasant to Tipton, the calico cat has had a lot of offers for a new home, but current caretakers and unwitting escorts, Ed and Schelly Odeen, in Tipton are taking their time.

“If we don't get her a new home soon I'm worried we'll end up keeping her,” Ed Odeen said. “Everyone will get attached, except for Maddie,” the Odeen's yellow Labrador.

Maddie is the reason the Odeens decided they wouldn't keep the cat, instead, they tried to find the original owner. But that search, so far, has been unfruitful.

Michelle Cecchini, 38, of Mount Pleasant, recognized Tebow when she was watching Tuesday night's 10 p.m. broadcast on KCRG-TV9. Cecchini says that she and her co-workers at the Super 8 Motel in Mount Pleasant had been feeding the stray cat for over a month. They tried finding the owner, and like the Odeens, came up empty.

Since the story aired on KCRG-TV9, the Odeens have gotten more than half-a-dozen calls for offers to take Tebow in. One call came from a man in Los Angeles. The Odeens aren't sure where to go from here.

“If I were the cat I'd go for the guy in L.A.,” said Odeen. “It's a lot warmer there, and after riding in five degree weather I'd want to.”