Every week we search for interesting stories about cats and their owners. This week we share the special story of Katja, whose cat Hunter went missing in November 2018. For over 4 years, Katja and her husband searched weekly for the missing cat. Until recently, Jay's long-lost brother was found again thanks to his chip!
Chip light
In mid-January 2023, it was announced that a nationwide microchipping requirement for cats is coming in The Netherlands (NL). When this will take effect is not yet known. What is known, however, is that only 17% of missing cats that end up in shelters are reunited with their owners. The rest either do not have a chip or are not properly registered. This is a significant difference compared to dogs, as 93% of dogs are microchipped, which shows that it is extremely effective.
Brothers
Hunter and Jay are brothers and come from a litter of kittens found by the roadside in 2014. They first went to a foster home via the animal shelter and then new owners were sought. "We wanted a cat, and since only Hunter and Jay were left, we took them together. We thought it was sad to leave one alone," says Katja.
The two tomcats grew up in Kerkdriel and could go outside through the cat flap. Until in October 2018 Hunter suddenly didn't come home anymore. Katja still remembers this well: "we searched for a very long time and really everywhere, asked around and distributed flyers. We followed up on all tips from people who thought they had seen him. It yielded nothing."
Jay has had the place to himself at Katja's home for over 4 years.
Special phone call
It turns out that Hunter ended up in Alem; it is a mystery how he got there from Kerkdriel. And an even bigger mystery is why he never returned. The moment Paul was called by the shelter was accompanied by quite a few tears. "It felt so unreal," says Katja, who cannot emphasize enough how important it is to chip and register your cats; because of that, they got their Hunter back.
A few days ago, the woman who found him noticed that the cat food in her shed was running out very quickly. Soon she saw Hunter going through the cat flap of the shed. She watched for a few days, but then called the animal shelter to see if someone could come to catch him and check for a chip. Otherwise, she would want to keep him herself.
Never given up hope
Katja and her husband still can't believe that Hunter is back safe, for 2 weeks now he has been happily lying at home again on his Royalty cat tree.
Yet all that time they never gave up hope: "My husband was still searching through Amivedi's list of found animals every month after all those years to see if Hunter was on it," says Katja, who is extremely happy that Hunter is back home with his brother Jay. Moreover, Hunter still looks very good; you wouldn't say he had been away from home for over 4 years.
Fortunately, the reunion between the brothers also went well:
Read the next article
The Cat Dad
27.01.2023
Every week we search for interesting stories about cats and their owners. This week we spoke with Christopher and his daughter Luna Jasmin from Ede, The Netherlands (NL). Together they are big cat lovers. This is evident, among other things, from Christopher's home and Luna's collection of stuffed animals. Christopher can tell us endless stories about his cats. We can actually say that he is the ultimate Cat Dad.
