Imagine what must go through your mind when your cat goes missing after a major incident in your home. And although you search the streets, ask in all the rehoming centres, put up posters, advertise on radio and in newspapers, there is no sign of him - what then? You reluctantly accept what looks to be the obvious answer and get on with your life. Read on for an amazing story of a cat reunited with its owner after an astonishing 18 years!
Last Updated Mon, 09 Aug 2004 22:15:08 EDT
WINNIPEG - A Manitoba woman is celebrating the return of her lost cat 18 years after the pet first disappeared.
"It's a miracle. There's no words to describe it," said Leslie Dumas, who had last seen her pet kitty Seagull in 1986. "It's just ... I needed him and he needed me."
Seagull had gone missing following a house fire in Selkirk, located about 34 kilometres north of Winnipeg, when the cat was one year old.
"We had a house fire, and we had moved, and somebody let the cats out and both cats went missing," Dumas recalled.
Recently, a dehydrated and malnourished black cat was found wandering around the East Kildonan area of Winnipeg. A stranger brought him to the Winnipeg Humane Society.
The identification tattoo in the cat's ear was still legible enough for the society to find the Dumas family.
Dumas said she was puzzled when her father told her the Winnipeg Humane Society had called, asking her to get in touch with them.
"I phoned them, and they said, 'We have your cat,'" said Dumas, who still lives in Selkirk.
"I said, 'What cat?'"
Dumas said she had to think back almost 20 years to 1986, when she was 22 years old.
"I said to the vet, 'This can't be. He looks like Seagull, but how can this be?' He just said it has to be, because of the tags."
Seagull, who is going on 20, has cataracts and poor vision.
Seagull will be the guest of honour at a benefit for the Winnipeg Humane Society on Friday.
Written by CBC News Online
Submitted with thanks by Michael Kolonel, Canada
Five Good Reasons for Having Your Cat Neutered
- Reduces fighting, injury and noise
- Reduces spraying and smelling
- Much less likely to wander and get lost
- Safer from diseases like feline AIDS, mammary tumours and feline leukaemia
- Reduces the number of unwanted kittens
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