Missing for 9 Months, Cat Reunited with Owner
“RV” (pictured at right), a four-year-old long-haired calico cat in Seattle, was flown to Tucson yesterday and reunited with her owner, Ken Gold. RV had been missing for nine months.
The story began in July 2008, when RV’s owner prepared to relocate from Seattle to Tucson. Despite delaying his departure for a day to search for the missing cat, RV was nowhere to be found and did not return. As a result, Gold had to move without her and rely on the cat’s own instincts for survival and a HomeAgain microchip implanted by RV’s veterinarian when hoping for a safe return.
Nearly nine months later, a Seattle resident found RV and called the King County Animal Care and Control. After quickly locating the cat’s HomeAgain microchip, Sgt. Brenda Dyrdahl, acting shelter supervisor, said they were able to locate RV in the database, reach out to the owner and begin the process of reuniting the cat with her family. Gold had made a point of updating his contact information through the HomeAgain service.
“We find using microchips extremely valuable in our line of work,” said Dyrdahl. “This is the perfect example of why a pet owner should consider using this type of service and keep their contact information up to date. Microchipping doesn’t locate every animal, but it keeps hope alive and makes miracles happen.”
“This is a great example of why it is so important to have two forms of identification on your cat at all times,” interim director for King County Animal Care and Control, Nancy McKenney added. “If your pet wears an ID tag, a license, and has a microchip, the chances of having your pet return home are exponentially greater than if they were wearing just one form of identification or none at all.”
So in addition to having a microchip like HomeAgain’s, which allows you to keep your contact info current, it’s important to have an ID tag that provides current contact information for you should your pet go missing and you move or are displaced from your home. Created in partnership with the American Red Cross, Together Tag is an ID Tag and pet recovery service rolled into one, and perfectly complements microchipping.
- Visit the HomeAgain website
- Visit Together Tag
Hi Skeezy, Another fortunate kitty has been returned to its owners. The article is both interesting and helpful to all pet owners.
Yay! We are happy that RV has been reunited with his family. Thanks for another great story and a lesson on why id’s are so important.
WOO HOO!!!!!!! Another happily reunited family!!!!!!!
What a great story – and doesn’t RV look like Catster’s PJ in the face?
This is really informative, and reminds me that I must get my little cat ID tagged.
This a a great story, and didn’t Rv do well surviving for 9 months until found
)
after nine months, glad to see rv home. but, they are right about micochipping. long story short, found a stray kitty outside a gas station, was told , he was there for 6 hrs, everybody walk past him. i took him home, no tags, took him to my local shelter, scanned him, had a chip, was back home in a couple days.
Thoughtful move, Greg. All of us cat owners thank you for that. We got our elderly cat Max back after a sicko neighbor trapped him (and, dig it, trapping is legal in Illinois–he has a license! The cops and the animal folks know about this guy, too, but he can’t be charged). He dropped Max off 25 miles away. A lady found Max two weeks later and took him in to her vet and he was chipped and we got him back. Thank God.