Missing Cat Gone For 536 Days Jumps Straight Into His Owner's Arms In An Emotional Reunion
Some missing pet stories fade into the background, but this one kept going for 536 days before finally landing on an emotional ending. Mindy and Luke Criner thought their shy ginger cat, Cat, was just out exploring like he always did, until one day he never came back.
What followed was a long stretch of flyers, Facebook posts, neighborhood searches, and growing heartbreak as the family tried everything they could think of. Then, on Halloween, a voicemail from Animal Control changed everything and sent Mindy racing to the shelter.
What happened next was the kind of reunion pet owners never stop hoping for. Read on.
Mindy and Luke adopted Cat from a shelter in 2015. They noticed he was very shy and too timid to even play with the other kittens at the shelter. They knew right away he was meant to be a part of their family.
“You could see in his eyes that he just needed love. It did take work; he had an immediate attachment to my husband, Luke, but one day we woke up and he was just laying on my chest purring, and that was the start of my sidekick cat,” Mindy said.
As it turned out, it was really the love that Cat needed, soon he gained enough confidence to roam around his yard, exploring the new territory. Sadly, one time, Cat didn’t return from his adventures.
It turned out that all Cat needed was love, and he soon gained enough confidence to venture outside into his backyard to explore. However, one day, sadly, Cat didn't return from one of his outdoor adventures.
“He went missing in the beginning of May. He would go out for a little while during the day if it was nice and come home when called for lunch or dinner, and sound off with a loud meow to let you know he was coming.
I put this new collar on him that had just come in the mail and let him out to play in the tree out front like usual. He paused and looked at me, and I just had this strange feeling I wasn’t going to see him again, to the point that I actually called my husband and told him about it.
We assumed it would be a normal day, but we weren’t that lucky. He didn’t come home for dinner and didn’t sound off when called. By morning, I was in full panic mode,” Mindy said.
The family immediately posted on the Lost & Found Pets - Hampton Roads, VA, Facebook Page, hoping someone may have seen him. They also placed Cat's litter box and food outside in the hope that the familiar smells might lead Cat home.
They also put up flyers all around their neighborhood, but nothing was working.
“I sent a post with all Cat's info to Gina (an absolute gem of a woman who runs the Lost and Found Pets of Hampton Roads Facebook page solely out of the goodness of her heart) who immediately shared it and had folks looking.
We took all the recommended tips she provided on the page, set up this litter box and food station so he could smell his way home, and established small housing stations a few blocks and about a mile from home with his pet house, food, and something that smelled like us (neighbors were fantastic and even checked in for us so we wouldn’t have to travel with the baby so much).
We put posters at the local grocery store, vet offices, shelters, and in the neighborhood. No Cat to be found. After a few months of nightly walks calling and praying that animal control or the shelter would call, I started to lose hope.”
They searched their neighborhood every night looking for Cat, but there was no sign of him.
“He was microchipped and had a collar with the vet’s info and my name. I knew that if someone found him or, even worse, if he had been hit by a car, I would get a call because he would get scanned.
Weeks turned into a year, then a little more, and every day that crack in my broken heart got a little bigger.
Then, on Halloween, 536 days after he disappeared, I got a voicemail from Animal Control and an email from the microchip company saying he had been found!”
“I honestly did not believe what I was reading. I thought it had to be a mistake,” Mindy said.
“The voicemail from AC said to get in touch with Peninsula Regional Animal Shelter to find him. I drove to that shelter as fast as the law allowed and walked through the door, already fighting back tears.
They walked me through all the rooms, but no Cat. The wonderful woman at the desk got right on the phone and called AC and everyone she could think of and found out that a man had called AC after Cat had been hit by a car on Halloween night.
When AC showed up, the gentleman in his 60s said that he had been feeding what he thought was a female cat for at least a year when Cat was hit. Instead of taking him to a vet, he called AC and reported that the “stray” he had been feeding for a year was hit and needed to go.
AC immediately scanned him, and my information popped right up. The gentleman didn’t even know microchips existed. He kept Cat at his house until I could be contacted. I called right away and picked him up that afternoon,” Mindy said.
“The reunion was unreal. He was only 1.8 miles away, 2 blocks from the park we take his tiny human to 3-4 times a week. He was sitting on the porch eating out of his bowl when he looked over at me. I said his name and gave him my signature kitty kitty type call.
He meowed right back to me, as he always had, grabbed another bite of food from the bowl, and walked right over to me as I approached. I sat on the steps and let him come to me in case he was scared, and he got right in my lap and purred.
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And if you think you’ve seen revenge, this is like the cat who ditched its original owners for another family.
“When we got home, he went straight up to “his” bathroom where we keep the plants during the winter, so it’s a mini jungle, and plopped right down in his same old spot. It broke my heart and melted it all at once.”
“His canine siblings came up to see him; they all had their own welcome home head boop moments too,” Mindy revealed.
“I hope that our story will give others missing their pets hope, and maybe those who have unknowingly taken in someone else’s pet will check to see if they’re scanned so that pet can have their happy reunion with their family, and someone else can feel the overwhelming joy we’re experiencing,” she added.
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Ready for another tearjerker, watch how a missing cat girl runs back to her hooman after hearing her voice. Here’s the video.
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