Cuddle cat is a baby toy made by Russ?

by Tinkerbell81 30.10.11 22:37

I put the "?" in the title whereas in fact Im pretty sure. In another topic it was mentioned the manufacturer of Cuddle Cat remains a mistery so I decided to dig a little, and found it. The name is Russ Berrie and like cuddle cat there is also a pink and blue cuddle dog.

Russ Berrie is not an unknown name, usually referred to as Russ some people know him best for making those "luck trolls" with the long colourful hair. There is no mention anymore of cuddle cat on the official website [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] but I found it elsewhere:

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the other sites that have mentions of it seem to be deleted, even if a google search turned these up (copy/pasted from the search results)

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15 May 2011 – Russ Berrie Pink CUDDLE CAT Moon Star Plush Rattle Toy, $39.99.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]russ-berrie-88/ -

2 Jun 2011 – Vintage Small Pig Figurine Russ Berrie Truffles # 14397 .... Russ Berrie Pink CUDDLE CAT Moon Star Plush Rattle Toy ...

seeing a pattern? infant toy, baby toy... a rattler? Im the last person to say something about plush being for kids only but a rattler as a birthday present for a four year old?

below is a little off topic info about Russ Berrie for those interested:

Spoiler:

Russ was founded in 1963 and named after the founder Russell Berrie. [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]
Before starting his own business, Russell started out as a toy sales representative,
who then began to design his own products. Russ started his business with only $500
and ran it out of a rented garage in Palisades Park, NJ.
His first product to reach the shelves were the plush Fuzzy Wuzzies in 1964.
By 1966 the company had exceeded one million dollars in annual sales.
Passionate about the business of selling and about his products,
Russ grew into a major world wide company and set the industry standard for customer service.

By the company's tenth anniversary, Berrie had established a company headquarters in
Oakland, NJ as well as a distribution center in California. In the late 70's,
Russ Berrie and Co., Inc. expanded Internationally in three different countries,
this helped to grow and diversify the company. In 1982 the company was recognized
by INC magazine as one of the top 500 fastest growing privately held companies in the US.
By March 1984 Russ went public, trading shares on the New York Stock Exchange
under the symbol of RUS.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]
In the early 90's, Troll mania boosted the company's sales almost doubling,
but in 1992, ironically, trolls are what shattered sales by 2 million dollars
when the public lost interest. Although this was devastating to Berrie,
he did not stop there. He sought out to find what was hot in the market place
and started to develop more baby items, home decor, teddy bears, cards and impulse items.

In 1995 Russ Berrie introduced a new line of nostalgic bears called 'Bears from the Past'
which became a favorite amongst many. In '98, Fortune magazine recognized Russ Berrie [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]
as the 34th Most Generous Philanthropist in the Country. As the promising small
company kept growing and became ever so popular, in 2001 it was named one of the
best 200 small companies in America by Forbes magazine. By 2002, the company
acquired Sassy, Inc. and on Christmas day that year, Russell Berrie past away.
Till this day, Russ Berrie and Co., Inc. is still a major seller in toys as well
as other products and the employees honor the memory of it's founder by striving to
meet the standard of excellence that Berrie had set as the leader for over forty years.

Russ Berrie makes a variety of different items including:

Bears
Dogs
Cats
Characters
Plush
Nic Nacs

by Shibboleth 30.10.11 23:00

Yes, I think this is it. A *Russ* soft toy, you can buy that brand here, not in toy stores but card-stores and gift-stores. I have never seen the cat before but I have seen little bears and other things by that manufacturer. It seems a strange gift for a four year old. But of course, there is the photograph of Maddie as a very young baby, with a toy that looks like the cuddle cat.

It still will not explain, why the McCann registered a web site, of a toy brand that they do not even own?

by jd 31.10.11 0:27

Great research Tinkerbell. I don't think anyone has researched cuddle cat until now and you have opened up a very interesting topic with this and lots to think about. Its looking like CC was pre meditated to be a marketing ploy to bring them lots of money, so obvious when you think about it. This is a good example of what makes this forum great, and now I am thinking about CC more than I did before

When you put a link up, make sure you save a copy of the contents before hand....as most links get whooshed by carter ruck once they are published...they have their spies here who alert them to any link

by Daisy 31.10.11 1:04

jd wrote:

When you put a link up, make sure you save a copy of the contents before hand....as most links get whooshed by carter ruck once they are published...they have their spies here who alert them to any link

Invaluable advice. A practise I took up some while back. In fact I go a wee bit further and print off what I believe to be relevent info and pass it around.

by **tigger** 31.10.11 6:06

If that is a cuddlecat in that early photograph, it was about right for her age then. Four year old with a rattle?
Wonderful research, I'd only found the douglas CC site without Cuddlecats.
Still, looks pretty clearly part of the whole plan. It's rather dreadful to think of a meeting where the marketing aspects of 'losing' Maddie were discussed, but discussed they were.
So we have a business brain, an IT expert and/or someone who is average at photoshopping on the staff. Then we have Clarrie, I wonder if he ditched the cuddle cat idea? He also put a stop to Gerry's idea of having Kate photographed in a swimsuit a few weeks after the abduction.
Both that and Cuddle Cat marketing might have lost them quite a lot of sympathy and support.
I've always said that Ger reminds me of Delboy but without the morals...

by **Jill Havern** 31.10.11 7:36

Thank you for starting this thread Tinkerbell thumbsup

There's some relevant comments about Cuddle Cat on Pages 22-24 of the [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

by **PeterMac** 31.10.11 8:15

What on earth did it cost new?
$ 39.99 is nearly £ 25. For a small cuddly toy with a rattle !
And where did M3 buy 40 of the wretched things ?

Or should I ask, DID M3 really buy 40 of the wretched things ?

by Guest 31.10.11 8:55

If Shibboleth is right and they are available in gift/card shops, we need to find out if such a shop exists in Praia da Luz or Lagos, to see if it could have been purchased out there sometime after the 29th April 2007.

by jd 31.10.11 9:08

Stella wrote:The problem I have with cuddlecat, is that it was found on Madeleine's bed along with her pink blanket when the PJ first arrived. You can see it on the bed, in the photograph taken by Joao Barreiras. So why would Kate make a statement like that in the first place, knowing that anyone who entered the bedroom that night would see it on her bed?

Its starting to make sense now...marketing ploy to sell the toy cat in order to make lots of money, getting in on the public sympathy. To me, yet another pre conceived set up plan in a long list of them

by Tinkerbell81 31.10.11 9:41

Stella wrote:If Shibboleth is right and they are available in gift/card shops, we need to find out if such a shop exists in Praia da Luz or Lagos, to see if it could have been purchased out there sometime after the 29th April 2007.

There are apparently a few gift shops in Praia da Luz but nowhere is listed what they actually sell
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You would also need to consider the tax free shops at the airports I think?

by Guest 31.10.11 9:53

What I found most weired is the fact that Amelie is seen in many picture clutching the Cuddle cat...Why do she not have her own cuddle toy?
Could it be that it was Amelies Cuddle cat ? no kids like to get passed on a used cuddle toy I think..

Who knows if cuddlecat has been photoshopped in to the babypic of her laying on Kate...

by russiandoll 31.10.11 12:22

advertise currently on their web site that they sell cuddly toys by this manufacturer. did mccanns and co fly TC airlines to algarve 2007?

by Invinoveritas 31.10.11 13:17

Moa wrote:What I found most weired is the fact that Amelie is seen in many picture clutching the Cuddle cat...Why do she not have her own cuddle toy?
Could it be that it was Amelies Cuddle cat ? no kids like to get passed on a used cuddle toy I think..

Who knows if cuddlecat has been photoshopped in to the babypic of her laying on Kate...

tigger and I were "discussing" the possibility this morning, take a look at the second video on this link and most especially at 1minute 40 seconds for about 10 seconds (cudddlecat2?) and then after about 5minutes 50 seconds when Eddie finds Madeleine's cuddlecat

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by Guest 31.10.11 14:04

Invinoveritas wrote:
Moa wrote:What I found most weired is the fact that Amelie is seen in many picture clutching the Cuddle cat...Why do she not have her own cuddle toy?
Could it be that it was Amelies Cuddle cat ? no kids like to get passed on a used cuddle toy I think..

Who knows if cuddlecat has been photoshopped in to the babypic of her laying on Kate...

tigger and I were "discussing" the possibility this morning, take a look at the second video on this link and most especially at 1minute 40 seconds for about 10 seconds (cudddlecat2?) and then after about 5minutes 50 seconds when Eddie finds Madeleine's cuddlecat

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I saw nothing at 1min40 sec and looked for 30 more seconds. But im at work so that might be the reason also :)

I will take a closer look at home tonight..My Pc crashed to the floor yesterday Sad

So no the kable giving it electrisity is broken Sad

So im using my sweet husbands computer so atleast I can follow this site. But all my stuff about this case is out of my reach for a while Sad

( sorry had to get it out somewhere, My computer is my love and life hehe Sad

)

by Invinoveritas 31.10.11 17:51

have just checked the link and it is working,

try this one:

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by Guest 31.10.11 18:03

Invinoveritas wrote:have just checked the link and it is working,

try this one:

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Oh stupid me :) I was looking at vid one :) Reread your description a few times before I noticed you said the second vid big grin

by Galina-A-Anikeeva 05.11.11 14:47

At a recent or current Portsmouth trial of a pedo/nudist case of Melissa Noon, Robert Hathaway & others the language used in their chat-rooms WAS TAKEN NOTE OF (though not necessarily being an 'evidence').

Coincidences are unavoidable: names, dates, colors, shapes (there may even be a malicious taunt, a setup).

Having said that, here is my observation: years ago on Russian forums a new 'jargon' word MALINA (raspberry) or the so-called diminutive version MALINKA was used. I guess it meant PORNOGRAPHY, although it may have been smth of that sort or a particular kind of pornography.

RASPBERRY - RUSSBERRY (or russberrie?)

And, in the Kay Griggs ( American naval wife) videos she talked about "Cherry Marines" meaning young homosexuals in the Navy (?).

My website: [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

IMPORTANT ADDITION: a similar jargon (new to me) was actually KLUBNICHKA - diminutive for STRAWBERRY ....

by Galina-A-Anikeeva 07.11.11 18:22

I shall look up the earlier analysis of the toy by Pat Brown asap. I saw it somewhere, is it in the Debate section?

There was a period of rather "ugly toys" - teddy bears suggestive of abuse, sold in Gosport, Fareham. The trade-mark was ty ( Gosport British-German firm?) and distributors were 'business-linked' to the football club in Portsmouth.

I have two printouts and shall make scans.

by mexx 07.11.11 21:33

It could be that the manufacturer had several products featuring the same character. A stuffed animal with a rattle inside would not be a good comfort object for sleeping, for obvious reasons!

My 3-year-old has been hooked on her comfort object since she was 3 months old. When searching for a "just in case replacement" I found that the manufacturer had a whole line of toys featuring the same chicken head, including a rattle, car-seat toys, a mobile, etc.

by russiandoll 08.11.11 13:55

I believe he McCanns flew to the Algarve with BMI. I still would not be surprised to find the airline sold these toys and that cuddle cat had been purchased on a flight. Or to find that it was Amelies toy. The way the thing was peeping out of Kate's rucksack on her way to the police station made me wince, it had been strategically placed [ the rucksack was baggy so the cat could easily have fitted inside.....why the heck didnt she just carry it as usual?]
I recall being surprised by the way Kate spoke in her book about the way she took it from the apartment with her..something very abrupt such as ....." and I had cuddle cat ".
will go and re read that bit.
also I wonder about Kates private moments, the ones where away from the world she might have held the toy to her face to get the scent of her daughter? did she ever take it to bed? If this toy is so full of resonance for her, her private behaviour with it is surely more meaningful than any public display of it?
cant put my finger on it, the toy means a lot, and not because of her daughters love of it.

by Guest 08.11.11 14:21

russiandoll wrote:I believe he McCanns flew to the Algarve with BMI.

What makes you think that russiandoll?

by russiandoll 08.11.11 14:29

well after scouring the net for evidence of them taking a thomas cook flight so that I could maybe suggest more plausibly that c cat was a flight purchase, [and I took ages.]... all I came across was a report that went with the photo of Maddie on the plane steps......." here is Maddie boarding the bmi flight to Faro".
I will try to find it again.....the documents in PJ files show a lot of people staying at OC as Thomas Cook passengers, package tourists, however I find the McCanns and co were down as MW guests so guess they made own flight arrangements?
anyway I could not find anything with TCX next to McCann names, but I was sure I had read somewhere that they flew with TCook.
That newspaper report contradicts it though, so guess I am mistaken.
any evidence of who they flew with if that report is wrong.......probably not important...just me wanting to make a point, I have always been very suspicious about that prop of a cat !! and then I read that they sell cuddly russ berrie toys on their planes !

by Guest 08.11.11 14:46

Thanks russiandoll for clearing that one up. I think there has been a lot of speculation about who they flew with and as they were not Thomas Cook guests, it definitely wasn't them.

There is nothing in the files anywhere regarding a flight with bmi, so that one is a forum myth I believe.

by russiandoll 08.11.11 14:51

I read it as part of a newspaper report, perhaps incorrect about bmi. they def used an airline though and I just could not help wondering about the cuddly toy being bought on board.....no reason for me to believe it was, just my very skeptical viewpoint about that cat. I know I should not speculate, but I cant help my gut instinct that makes me suspect that cat of being significant for other reasons than Maddies love for it.

by Galina-A-Anikeeva 09.11.11 15:52

Galina-A-Anikeeva wrote:I shall look up the earlier analysis of the toy by Pat Brown asap. I saw it somewhere, is it in the Debate section?

There was a period of rather "ugly toys" - teddy bears suggestive of abuse, sold in Gosport, Fareham. The trade-mark was ty ( Gosport British-German firm?) and distributors were 'business-linked' to the football club in Portsmouth.

I have two printouts and shall make scans.

Just posted the 2 scans ( 2 top images) on my website today (post/nr 299)

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] - nr 299 Wed. 9 November 2011.

Tried, but could not "host image" - connection could not be made.

The TY .com does not have those models any more, it seems. Year 2006 - Political Party of PAEDOPHILES used EU law to register in Holland. There were diabolical logos around - such as pink double hearts I saw on a waste bin or an icecream stand (?), which were used elsewhere as paedo symbols. There was a "Tickled Pink" ribbon worn by Job Centre worker(s). In Portsmouth next to Tesco store there were offensively designed t-shirts for toddlers and babies (photo-print shop?). I remember 'sexy'. etc. Also there were 'daring' use of FBI and CIA as acronyms of some wording (not so offensive, but proximity was). I can't remember all the details now.

In Fareham, I remember, on a market inside shopping centre, a professional and conservative looking woman sold incredibly offensive toys, or, rather, statuettes - mutation of a woman and a cow, etc. Her firm, if I am not mistaken, was called MULTI-CULTI . Reminded me of a Russian jargon for cartoons - multi-pulti.

2008 - The second scan is from a MASONIC website, which is now under reconstruction (?). I remember around that time there was some scandal about a British woman (masonic wife?) being disallowed to teach or bring toys (teddies?) to children in some arab or muslim country. Details were not given.

The two men with teddies: Here Dr. S.Tampi. Accident&Emergency Consultant at The Casualty Department, Macclesfield General Hospital is shown with the Macclesfield Masons Teddy Bear Co-ordinator, Dave Hulme from The Duke of Connaught Lodge.

One Russian 'perestroika' film had a younger man in a show for children talking agitatively with his hand clasping and groping a doll just where Dr. S. Tampi has his hand .... accidentally?

As for charity that distributed donated teddies to sick children ... I thought a second-hand soft toy was not really hyegenic (sp?) to bring to a hospital. The website is [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]