Cat returns home after missing for 10 years — “We went looking for him!”
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Cat returns home after missing for 10 years — “We went looking for him!”
A 12-year-old cat has miraculously been found and reunited with his family 10 years after he disappeared.
Kaitlin Thrupp, who was living with her partner Shaun, said that her then 2-year-old cat, Simba, escaped from her home in Murrumba Downs, north of Brisbane, after she accidentally left a wire door open.
The mum also revealed that they searched high and low to find Simba.
"We went looking for him, we put fliers out," Kaitlin said.
"The RSPCA back in the day had a 'pet detect' service. We paid for them to help us try to find him."
"We went doorknocking to heaps of different neighbours, I had flyers in my car when I was driving around, so people could see it."
A photo of Simba and Kaitlin Thrupp. Credit: RSPCA Queensland.
Ms Thrupp claimed that despite moving from Murrumba Downs to Narangba — which was 15 minutes away from where Simba went missing — she never gave up on looking for the missing cat.
Kaitlin said: "On my way home I would divert through Murrumba Downs just on the off-chance I’d maybe see him running around or walking somewhere."
While the couple had thoughts about the possibility that "something [bad] had happened to him", they kept their details up-to-date on Simba's microchip records and have monitored local rescue groups in a bid to find their missing feline.
The RSPCA phoned the Queensland couple to ask if they were missing a large orange cat. Credit: RSPCA.
All of their efforts paid off when they received a call from RSPCA's Dakabin branch, asking if they were missing a large ginger cat.
The Queensland family said that they were met with a "massive surprise", rushing to the shelter to take the cat home.
It was revealed that Simba was picked up as a stray when they scanned his microchip and confirmed that the cat was indeed Kaitlin's.
Now, Simba shares his home with a new baby, a dog, and two other cats.
Kaitlin said that they were thrilled to have him back, saying: "We used to do a little thing where we'd put our hands up in an arch so he'd come over and do a little head bump against us."
"We did that when we came home, and he came straight over and did it, so we thought, 'Oh, I wonder if he remembered us.'"
For the pet owners out there, Ms Thrupp has one piece of advice: "I was the biggest advocate for microchipping before this but even now, it just reiterates it's the best thing for anybody who is missing their cat."
Have you had similar experiences where you got reunited with a missing pet? Share your stories (and photos of your pets if you have them) with us in the comments below!
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