Sometimes, when it seems all hope is lost, a miracle occurs. For Mark Salisbury he has experienced this first hand. Mark’s cat, lost 10 years prior, was identified thanks to his microchip.
In 2008, two cats came into Salisbury’s life.
The feline brothers were from a nearby farm and loved living the outdoor lifestyle at his home in Suffolk, England.
Photo Credit: www.bbc.com; Harry Relaxing
For cats in rural England, life outdoors is more common than in other countries and locations. It’s estimated approximately 90% of cats are let outside! But what can happen to these cats is exactly why we are regretfully not in agreement with this practice, no matter how safe it “seems”.
Photo: pets4homes.co.uk; Esme up for adoption and loving the outdoors
One evening, when calling the felines for dinner, only 1 returned. Harry was no where to be found. Days passed and still no sign of Harry. The cat was micro-chipped but unless he was found and brought to a shelter to be scanned, his whereabouts were unknown.
The remaining cat’s attitude changed drastically. Not wanting to venture outdoors anymore, he became adamant on staying near his humans and was very shy.
But Mark never gave up hope on finding Harry completely.
He searched for over a year for the young orange and white cat. Unfortunately, the time came for Mark to move to a new area. Knowing that cats can travel tremendous distances and are amazingly found months, or sometimes even years after they disappear, there was still a glimmer of hope.
Salisbury figured that keeping the microchip data updated in the national registry was the least he could do. He made sure to update his contact info just in case Harry showed up.
For 10 years he did this. For a decade, he held on to hope.
And it paid off! In May of 2018, Mark received a call from the Blue Cross Rehoming Center in Ipswich, Suffolk. Harry had been found!
It turns out an elderly man had taken Harry into his home. Sadly, the gentleman passed away, leaving the cat orphaned and in need of a new furever home. According to practices, the cat was scanned for a microchip upon arriving at the shelter.
Staff were as surprised as Mark to discover the cat was the very same Harry who disappeared so many years earlier. Even more surprising was the fact that Salisbury never forgot his beloved companion and had kept his info up-to-date!
Now living 190 miles away in Gloucestershire, Mark was happy to bring Harry into his family once again. However, after being apart for so long the furry brothers are set in their solo cat house ways. Luckily, Salisbury’s mother Carolyn, was more than willing to welcome Harry into her home.
Harry has comfortably settled into his new surroundings and purrfectly, Mark can visit as often as possible. Perhaps someday the siblings will be reunited and can live in peaceful harmony.
Without the miracle of micro-chipping, this family wouldn’t have had a chance at reunited happiness, however delayed that may have been.
If you are unsure about micro-chipping, please read about the painless procedures and success stories that a simple implant, the size of a grain of rice, can lead to.
Remember, indoor cats are always at risk of getting out so ALL fur-babies benefit from being micro-chipped and don’t forget to keep your info up to date!
REMEMBER: ADOPT, DON’T SHOP, MICROCHIP YOUR PETS & SPAY AND NEUTER!
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Interesting. How far away did the elderly gentleman live from Mark Salisbury? I wouldn’t be surprised if Harry had decided to move house so that he could be an only cat! I’ve known a few cases of cats who spent more time in neighbours’ gardens and houses than in their own place, with their servants pleading with the neighbours ‘Please don’t feed him or he will never come back!’.
Interesting. How far away did the elderly gentleman live from Mark Salisbury? I wouldn’t be surprised if Harry had decided to move house so that he could be an only cat! I’ve known a few cases of cats who spent more time in neighbours’ gardens and houses than in their own place, with their servants pleading with the neighbours ‘Please don’t feed him or he will never come back!’.