Cat returns home to Nuneaton family eleven years after going missing
A cat which went missing eleven years ago from Nuneaton has been reunited with his family.
Toby was presumed dead after failing to come home to the Allan family, but recent reports of a stray cat a few miles down the road changed all that.
A woman in Bedworth contacted Cats Protection about a stray cat she had been regularly feeding and which she believed to be pregnant.A volunteer visited and discovered the cat was in fact a male and, most importantly, that he had a microchip.
Toby was then reunited with his family a few miles away.
No-one will ever know what happened to him in those intervening years.
Madison Rogers, Cats Protection’s head of advocacy, said in a statement how important it is for cats to be microchipped:“It is always wonderful to hear stories like Toby’s where a cat and owner have been reunited thanks to their microchip after so many years apart," she said.
"We cannot know what happened to Toby in the years before he was scanned but we encourage anybody who finds a cat who they believe to be lost or stray to take them to a vet or animal rescue charity where they can be checked for a microchip."Although this is a wonderful happy ending for Toby, if only he had been found and scanned when he first disappeared, he could have been back with his family all this time.
"Luckily Toby’s owner’s details were up to date and his story is a fantastic example of just how important it is to keep details up to date and how quickly a cat can be returned.
"He may have been missing for 11 years but because of his microchip he was back home within 24 hours of his owners being contacted!” In June 10 next year it will be compulsory for cats to be microchipped before they reach 20 weeks old and owners’ contact details must be kept up to date. Owners can face a fine of up to £500 for failing to microchip their cats.
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