A Perthshire vet practice has helped a family in Crieff get their cat back after seven months of it being lost nearly 50 miles away in Kenmore.
Without the microchip, which was used by Heartland Vet Services to locate its owner, the thin ginger cat might never have got home.
Maintenance worker at the Kenmore Club Mike Gracie (59) noticed a “very friendly” cat hanging about in the resort car park.
It kept showing up over several weeks and Mike noticed it was getting thin.
“I liked it a lot, it was a lovely cat. He came up for cuddles but you could see it was losing weight. I began to believe he was not local but was a stray.
“When he started being very vocal, I decided to bring food for him when I next came to work.
“He was covered in ticks and was getting thin despite the tuna I was bringing him.
“My wife Holly and her mum Helen hatched a plan about how first off I should capture the cat and get it to the vets for treatment.
“My work mate Dave lent a cage trap and after a few botched attempts, I enticed the cat inside.
“He didn’t like it at all. Having been walking free, I guess it was not a nice feeling to be in a container. He fluffed up and showed his claws.
“I live in Aberfeldy and although I’m an animal lover, have no pets myself. I thought if no one claimed it, perhaps the cat could live with us.”
Heartland Vets got to the bottom of the wandering ginger cat’s tale. The microchip showed his owner lived some hike away in Crieff and they were contacted and told about what had happened.
They came to take the cat home and were delighted to get it back having noticed their pet went missing in January, seven months earlier.
Posting on Aberfeldy Community Notice Board, vet staff shared more: “Talk about a happy ending! This lovely cat has been missing from his home since January.
“Thanks to some very kind members of the Kenmore community, he was taken into us here Heartland Vets, Aberfeldy yesterday.
“His delighted and surprised owner collected him this morning.
“This highlights the importance of having your pet microchipped, and the details being up to date. Reading his microchip allowed us to locate his owner which ultimately led to this lovely happy ending.”
On hearing of its home being 46 miles away across the county, Mike believes the cat possibly found its way from Crieff to Kenmore having been curious and accidently jumping into a delivery van.
