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    Cat pawrent who’d given up hope of finding missing feline has life turned upside down when Humane Society contact him 9 years later having found his soul cat, resulting in an 8 hour drive and a tearful reunion

    Author image for Laurent Shinar
    Laurent Shinar • Writer and Editor
    Jun 29, 2026 8:45 AM EDT

    Life is a rollercoaster, you never know when all of a sudden you will find yourself flung up in the air and in a different place than you thought you were. And that is very much what happened to this cat pawrent when they had to move towns and sadly their soul cat escaped in the process.

    The pages of Reddit's r/cats subreddit are full of all sorts of cat child stories and imagery, but it is not all too often that we have the good fortune of coming upon a story that would give hope to all the feline pawrents who have ever had a cat go missing. For this tale of feline disappearance comes full circle after almost a full decade when that all important chip came into play and finally did its job, to reconnect lost cat children and their pawrents.

    Of course after all those years apart and the long distance relocation this pawrent had to do, it seemed as though there would be no hope of the feline returning to its rightful owner. Even the limited attempts over the years of driving around their hometown calling out for their cat child were mere placations to the pain that this pawrent felt over losing their fluffy best friend all those years ago. But one fateful day when they were back home, far away from the town their cat child went missing in, they got a call that changed everything. That proves the value of microchipping your cat child. That shows every feline pawrent out there, that no matter how long it has been, no matter how far you might be from your fur baby, there is always a chance that they will find their way back to you.

     

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    • 01
      "He purred and meowed when I picked him up, so I think he remembered me."
      via jonlevine
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    • 02
      About a week ago, I'm working an event on Saturday evening when my phone rings. The number isn't in my contacts, so I think it's spam and dismiss it. They call back, I do
      via jonlevine
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      the same thing. They call back again and I'm like \ is going on here. I still don't answer, but shortly after, I get a text message from the same number. It's the
      via jonlevine
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      Humane Society of Broward County (Fort Lauderdale) asking me if I've lost a cat. I immediately bolt outside and call the number back. The
      via jonlevine
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    • 05
      woman asks me if I've lost a cat and I tell her I did, NINE YEARS AGO! A week before I was moving from Fort Lauderdale to Atlanta
      via jonlevine

    • Holy guacamole, that is not a phone call that any pawrent to a missing feline has ever expected to get after so much time. Although with the way that cat children tend to roam from home to home. Living in each one for several years until they decide to move on, it is not all too outlandish for this to actually be happening. Cats can be quite the independent creatures after all. And you know what? This could even be a case that this feline has been jumping from family to family all these years in the hopes of landing back in the arms of his original pawrent. 
       

    • 06
      nine years ago October 1st, my friend said she would foster my cat during the move (I also had a big dog and it was just me) and then bring him up when I got settled. So, I brought
      via jonlevine
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      him over and got him set up. The next day, she calls me hysterically crying. She's opened her sliding glass door to get something off her patio and the cat
      via jonlevine
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      bolted out, climbed the fence, and ran off. So, for the next week, we walked around, put up signs, all the things you'd do, but to no avail. My house
      via jonlevine
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    • 09
      was sold and all my things shipped, so I had to go and I did. She continued to look and anytime for the next couple of years I'd come down to visit, I'd drive around
      via jonlevine
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      my old neighborhood calling his name. I had adopted him from the Humane Society, so he had a chip, so I knew if he was found they would call me.
      via jonlevine
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      But, after a couple of years I gave up hope and figured he was just gone. So it was much to my amazement when they called me and
      via jonlevine
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    • Wow, this is unreal. Truly, to spend all those years living in some sort half faith that one day your soul cat would come back to you. To never give up hope on the relationship you so desperately wish to have come back to you. That is so much emotional weight to carry for such a long time. We cannot imagine the wild array of emotions that this pawrent was feeling when they got the call. We would be questioning if we heard the caller correctly, if it is at all possible your cat is still alive after all these years.
       

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      told me that he just wandered up to somebody's house and they took him in and found the chip. He was staying with the family that found
      via jonlevine
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      him and the Humane Society gave them my number. I spoke to the husband and asked him if he wanted to keep the cat. It was most
      via jonlevine
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      Cheezburger Image 10641442304
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      important to me that he was in a loving home, mine or someone else's. Unfortunately, the man's wife is allergic to cats, so they couldn't keep him. He
      via jonlevine
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      said he was a really cool cat and didn't want to return him to the shelter. I told him absolutely not! I asked if he could just hang onto him for a few days while I made arrangements.
      via jonlevine
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      A few days later, I hopped in the car and made the eight and a half hour drive from Atlanta to Fort Lauderdale to pick up my cat who I hadn't seen in nine years!OBJ
      via jonlevine
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      He purred and meowed when I picked him up, so I think he remembered me. He definitely wasn't skinny, so I think someone's been
      via jonlevine
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      taking care of him, or at least he'd been getting fed by a few different people. So, without further
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      ado, Ladies and gentlemen, let me introduce you to the one and only, Mr. Cheese!
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      Bio_warehouse He spent a lifetime returning to your side.
      via jonlevine

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    missing cat found hope soul later reunion give up find reddit story years humane society cat story feline pawrents
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