Cats Protection reunites owners with three cats missing for a total of 21 years
Cats Protection has renewed calls for compulsory microchipping of cats after helping three cats who had been missing for a total of 21 years finally find their way back to their owners.
Ringo, Whiskey and George were all handed into separate branches and centres of the charity in June – appropriately during National Microchipping Month – and were swiftly reunited with their owners thanks to details on their microchips.
While Ringo and George had both been missing from their homes for five years, Whiskey had been gone for a staggering 11 years when he was handed into Cats Protection’s care.
Cats Protection spokeswoman Cat Jarvis said: “Cats Protection frequently reunites cats with their owners, and the main reason why this is possible is because the cats have been microchipped.
“Whiskey, Ringo and George’s owners were all thrilled to have their much-loved pets home after being missing for so long, and this was only possible because they had been ‘chipped.”
The stories behind the happy reunions are:
Whiskey: Whiskey was reunited with his owner Marie Goddard an incredible 11 years after he went missing from his home in Wanstead, East London. It is thought the ginger puss became lost and was later taken in by an elderly man living nearby, who assumed he was a stray. The man later moved to Caister-on-Sea in Norfolk, taking Whiskey with him and caring for him until ill health meant he needed to hand him into Cats Protection’s Anglia Coastal Branch. A routine scan for a microchip revealed his original owner, and Whiskey was later reunited with Marie after 11 years. She said: “I was absolutely overwhelmed and thrilled to see Whiskey again. I always thought he must have died, perhaps in a road accident, so to see him again was just wonderful. I had always felt so sad that I never had any idea what had happened to him, but thanks to his micrcochip he is now back in our lives.”
Ringo: Ringo had been gone for five years when a farmer contacted Cats Protection’s Exeter Axhayes Adoption Centre to report him as a stray. After bringing him into the centre, staff used the details on his microchip to trace his owner Carolyn Daniels, who lives just a few miles away in Bradninch, Devon. She said: “He was thin, looking a bit worse for wear and in need of a bit of TLC, but we were overjoyed to see Ringo again. As soon as we got him home he was purring away, he definitely recognised us and our other cat, Arthur. Our teenage daughters were so thrilled to see Ringo again and it really is so wonderful to have him home. I never gave up hope, I knew that if he was ever scanned for a microchip I would get a call, but as the years passed it seemed less and less likely we would ever see him again. And then it happened! If he hadn’t been microchipped we would never have got him back.”
George: George had been missing from his home in Eastbourne, Sussex, for five years when he was handed into Cats Protection’s National Cat Adoption Centre in Sussex. Having gone missing from owner Carrie-Ann Bishop’s home, it is believed he was taken in by an elderly woman who assumed he was a stray. Eventually, she became too frail to care for him and handed him into Cats Protection, where staff carried out a routine microchip scan and discovered his original owner’s details. Carrie-Ann said: “I am so pleased that me and my two children have been reunited with our cat after five years, thanks to him being microchipped. I cannot thank Cats Protection enough for all their effort in reuniting us and I would urge everybody to get their pets microchipped.”
While the charity is able to bring about many happy reunions, figures released earlier this month by Cats Protection show that two in three stray cats are never reunited with their owners.
The charity’s calls for compulsory microchipping of cats appeared in Cats Protection’s 2022 Agenda for Cats, which urges politicians from all parties to support measures to protect cats from abandonment, harm and neglect.
Cat added: “We know from our research that less than a third of pet cats are microchipped and one in four have no identification at all. If all cats were microchipped the chances of reuniting missing cats with their owners would be greatly increased, leading to many more happy reunions.
“Legislation relating to the compulsory microchipping of dogs came into force last year so we are asking the Government to now turn its attention to cats.”
As part of its campaign, Cats Protection is urging cat owners to ‘chip their pets and keep their records up to date so they are able to reunite more missing moggies with their owners.
The charity’s latest video promoting the benefits of microchipping is available to view here :
So two of the cats made life sunnier for two elderly people – and were well cared for. That is a sweet touch to this story. And good they got taken back to their original homes after the elderly new owners could no longer take care of them.
Indeed. 🙂
When you adopt a shelter cat here in Washington, the cat has a microchip.
Same in the U.K. They won’t re home them unless they are chipped and neutered.
Some wonderful stories <3
Thank you ^^
The shelter where we adopted Teddy microchips all their kitties and dogs before adopting them out. We know should Ted somehow get loose that at least he has a chance of getting back to us but he doesn’t go out on his own – just on leash/harness. Still, we feel SAFER with the chip in!
Pam
Same for us! And same in the UK re charities it’s a good thing they do that.
Our latest adoption has a strange microchip issue tho! It’s registered in the US rather than here in the UK so we somehow need to get it updated through some complex forms. Otherwise should he ever sneak out someone might try to take him “back” to the US LOL.
The cats we adopted from RSPCA were chipped when we adopted them. We got our other cats chipped, even the indoor only cats – you never know if they might get outside by mistake, and get lost. It’s relatively inexpensive, and I believe their are often free chipping initiatives running for those on low incomes/benefits in the UK.
Indeed! Totally agree even indoor cats should be chipped.
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