We hope that our story will encourage and support those whose beloved cat friends have 'gone missing'.
Our story begins in September 2002 when our daughter moved into her own place and our family cat 'Holly' went to live with her. Unfortunately, we forgot to fully explain the change of plan to cat and, on the first opportunity, found a tiny gap in the back door of her new billet and disappeared over the hills and far away.
For some time we actively scoured the local area, left details with the local vets, cat charities, animal welfare organisations etc. but without any joy and as weeks turned to months and months turned to years we slowly started to accept that we might not see her again.
Imagine the scene therefore when, 3 and a half years later, our daughter received a phone call from a local vet about 'Holly'. They explained, to our now open-mouthed daughter, that a stray cat had been brought in for inoculation and that, as part of their normal procedure, they had scanned her for and found the microchip in her neck.Further, they told her that 'Holly' was in good condition in fact overweight, showed no outward signs of distress and that for the time being, had gone back home with the kind soul that had brought her in. So having taken down the name and address, our daughter quickly made contact and arranged to go and visit.
Picture the scene of the reunion - almost instant recognition and some tears all-round. This was indeed our 'missing' cat that for the past 3 years or so had been living rough and visiting the house of a cat lover that had been feeding her. Even more incredibly, the house was no more than a quarter of a mile away. So near yet so far!!!
Our story ends in the best way possible. We are happily re-united with 'Holly' who shows no signs of trauma from her experience, except to say that she is less keen on going 'out' than she used to be. So, what is the moral of our story? Well there are several. Always, have your cats micro chipped, always keep the 'chip' firm up to date with any changes in your contact details and NEVER, NEVER SAY NEVER!
H & M Barnard