A microchipped cat named Teenie by AniMeals adoption center in Missoula, MT made her way home after almost a year. As amazing as that is all by itself, the story’s details make it quite unusual. This kitty came all the way from Down Under, an Australian cat reunited with her Montana family who had been searching for her.
One day before sharing the story of Teenie, AniMeals shared the story of Oliver, the Persian. In that case, Oliver reunited with his human family in Idaho after somehow traveling over 365 miles away in four days. In this case, there was no microchip, but a social media post reconnected Oliver with his faraway family.
The next day, AniMeals posted a picture of the cat they were calling Teenie. As their social media followers had just shown with Oliver, they often help reconnect lost cats with their owners. So the rescue group hoped the same would happen with Teenie.
“You guys are so good at this. Hopefully, you can help us solve this one too,” AniMeals posted on Facebook.
“This older lady was found as a stray back in October 2020 in the 2200 Block of Kensington here in Missoula. We are calling her Teenie,” they wrote.
Teenie Came From 8,154 Miles Away in Australia
Then, Teenie’s story took a big turn when the rescuers retrieved the information on her microchip. It came from an organization in South Wales, Australia.
“Teenie is microchipped to an Organization in South Wales Australia. We have sent them a message, but obviously, we are in different time zones. The best guess is she is older than ten because [Teenie] was diagnosed as being Hyperthyroid,” they wrote. “[It] would be awesome to find her original owners.
Images via Facebook/AniMeals No-Kill Adoption Ctr and Animal Food Bank
As the AniMeals staff awaited a response from Australia, they watched for comments. Soon, they had an amazing answer.
A Big Teenie Update
Soon after posting the story of Teenie, AniMeals had located the owner. Rather than being from Australia, they were much closer than expected.
“UPDATE: OWNER HAS BEEN FOUND. IT IS ANOTHER UNBELIEVABLE STORY MORE INFO COMING UP TOMORROW”
Teenie’s Family Has Been Nearby the Whole Time
On their page, the group shared the rather unbelievable news:
“WOW!!!! What a bizarre week it has been. We didn’t make this story up either,” they began their post.
“Yesterday, we posted a stray cat that had been found ten months ago with a Microchip from Australia that we were calling Teenie. Not an easy feat to get information on a microchip from another country, just so you know,” they stated.
As it turns out, the Australian microchip company responded to the inquiry about Teenie.
“We sent an email to the place that had implanted the chip, and we got a response back; Teenie’s real name is Sophie, and her owners were living in the US.”
Now, it turned out that Sophie’s owner was quite familiar to staff at AniMeals.
“The name of the owner that they gave sounded very familiar. I had the information for the owners the whole time and didn’t even know it. Sophie’s owners have been fostering for us and adopted from us a few months back. What are the odds of that????? The world became very small…..” they wrote.
Teenie/Sophie reunited with owner via Facebook
How Did Sophie Get Lost?
Almost a year ago, Sophie went for a long walk for ten blocks. Then, she ended up wandering onto the porch of a friendly person. Thinking she must be a homeless cat, the kind person began feeding the lost kitty.
“This nice person started feeding her and eventually let her in the house where she has been for the last ten months. Meanwhile, her family was looking for her,” stated the post.
Then, this person moved across the country.
“The person that Sophie had been with for the last ten months has not been able to find housing in Missoula, so she decided to move to Washington DC. She couldn’t take Sophie with her, so she brought her to us. This is how Sophie was able to go back home to her family this morning after almost one year missing.”
🌎 Microchips Work – Even Across the Planet 🌏
Now, they had the complete picture, thanks to the microchip.
“Sophie was adopted in Australia as a kitten and is now nine years old. Microchips really do work.
“Please Please Microchip your pets…..”
In the comments, Sophie’s happily reunited owner responded:
“Yep, that’s our Sophie! So glad she’s been found and so sorry you had to go through Australia to get to us!!! Thank you so much. We’ve missed her!”
Feline microchip by Joelmills via Wikimedia Commons, (CC BY-SA 3.0)
A Good Reminder About Updating Contact Info
In the comments, Teenie/Sophie’s owner responded to an important questions about microchips. What should you do if you move with your cat overseas?
“So happy to hear the amazing news! Now, out of curiosity, should someone who moved from another country, notify the microchip company of their move (whether temporary or permanent) just like you would if you moved in the states? You wouldn’t put in a 2nd chip for the states, right?” asked a person.
In response, Sophie’s owners stated:
“I thought I had registered her here, but didn’t do it properly. It turns out, I need to change my contract details in Australia because chip readers here can read the info, then contact the folks in Australia, ultimately finding me! Lesson learnt!”
Thus, it’s important to update your pet’s contact information by contacting the pet registry your pet is originally enrolled with. Often, you can make the update on the company’s website or by phone, according to Petfinder.
In many cases, it’s required to microchip your pet before relocating to another country. Seeing how your contact information can be retrieved worldwide, your pet can find their way home whether they travel to the neighbor’s house or across the globe.
Thanks to AniMeals for sharing another incredible story and reminder to microchip pets.
Featured image: Globe by 1343024 via Pixabay, Pixabay License with image via Facebook/AniMeals No-Kill Adoption Ctr and Animal Food Bank
