British Columbia T-Shirt Prints 604 Number, Triggers Phantom Cat Ransom Ring
British Columbia woman Natasha Lavoie’s 604 phone number hits Google Trends after a Wisdumb NY T-shirt prints it on a fake missing cat poster, igniting dozens of calls per day about a cat named Torbo. “My cat’s at home in the air conditioning,” she quips, while people ask, ‘How do I report a fake missing cat?’ and ‘Can a phone number be removed from Google?’
After Natasha Lavoie’s 604 digits became urban legend, pranksters and well-meaning cat rescuers kept dialing, convinced Torbo needed ransom. The Wisdumb NY shirt—now yanked—had her real number; she refuses to give up her area code, since “I’ve had my number for 20 years.” Is it legal to print real phone numbers on merchandise? Social feeds wonder if a T-shirt can trigger a new urban myth or if there’s a secret hotline for non-existent felines.
In July, more than 50 strangers called Lavoie daily about ‘Torbo’—though her real cat, Mauser, lounged at home, blissfully unaware his doppelganger’s kidnapping saga spanned an entire continent.
