T’was the day after Christmas 2022 when Roddy, a beloved black Siamese cat, reappeared near the home he had been missing from for 74 days! He ran off on October 13th and was last seen behind a fish & chips shop.
Roddy’s mom Amanda Appleyard caught the emotional reunion on the security camera at her home in York, UK.
Image screenshots and media via Facebook/Amanda Appleyard/BBC
Then, she shared the video on Facebook, which went viral, getting picked up by the BBC. She couldn’t believe it, but when she walked down the driveway, she heard him meow. Surprisingly, he appeared and she scooped him up and held him tight as the tears came. She was “over the Moon.”
“Probably be crying until next Christmas about how happy I am right now,” she said. “PS, he is grounded FOREVER.”
You just never know when they may return, and as we’ve shared many times before, resourceful (and lucky) cats have returned home after a decade or more missing. In this case, the family was distraught for weeks as the weather got cold. It was a sad Christmas, but then, the next day, there he was!
“We just got back from the in-laws. I am literally walking down the drive holding my hot choc, and I suddenly hear a meow coming from the garden. Our outdoor /indoor cameras have captured it all. Wow, I am still in shock. Boxing day, can you believe it?” she wrote.
Now, Appleyard says she’s happy to have the reunion to watch again.
“I look back on it now, and I still have tears in my eyes,” she told the BBC.
Roddy’s Mom Never Gave Up
Appleyard never gave up searching for Roddy, looking for him in the freezing weather and hoping somehow he was safe. She shared his picture online, posted posters, and walked for miles all over the area, searching high and low.
People from all over joined her search online. He already had a microchip and was neutered thankfully. She hoped a veterinarian might come across him and scan for her contact information. One day, she got what seemed to be a promising lead; a picture of what looked like Roddy sitting on a sidewalk. He looked well-fed.
Possibly Roddy caught on camera
A man named Robbie told her he may have seen Roddy visiting late at night, and she went to wait outside to see. As she waited with treats at the ready, she called, “Roddy!” The man mistakenly thought she was calling his name while trying to sleep.
“He thought I was shouting Robbie, which is this guy’s name, so he thought he had been going mad in his sleep!”
A video from a home showed a black cat on the stoop late at 3 am. This cat was enjoying the night life.
She camped out in her car into the wee hours hoping to spot the cat. Later, a woman said she had a black cat, but it turned out to be a cat name, Elvis. Appleyard was devastated when she went to check for herself. Then Christmas came, and there was no Roddy.
“It’s freezing outside. The leads have dried up. It’s Christmas, and it hurts. He is somewhere. I will not stop searching until I can bury him or bring him home.”
There’s No Place Like Home
Now, if Roddy gets hankering for fish and chips, he’ll be wearing a tracker on his collar as another precaution. As noted, he’s been grounded, and there’s no place like home. We’re so happy that the kitty returned and that she shared the wonderful reunion with everyone. It looks like Roddy is so happy to be back home with his family.
Roddy and his sibling are reunited too!
Appleyard says she hopes the video gives hope to anyone out there who may have a missing cat.
“I thought I’d lost him forever. Never give up. Never lose hope,” she said.
Video below via BBC:
