A local motel owner phoned us recently about a Russian Blue who had turned up on his doorstep. The cat’s owner had stayed at the motel a few days before and the cat, a true Russian prince, had taken leave overnight.
Although the owner had searched everywhere the cat had not returned before she had to travel on. She left her phone number but the motel owner had tried it repeatedly without result and was left with the cat.
Nikolai arrived at the surgery with his collar and name, most indignant that his lift had left without him. The collar had no address or phone number on it and we couldn’t find a microchip with our scanner. The phone number the motel owner had been given was disconnected by this time and we presumed that the woman must have been in the process of moving.
Nikolai is a handsome fellow. One of nurses fell head over heels in love with him and couldn’t bear the thought of such a prince being banished to a lowly cat shelter. She offered to take him home until the owner returned to claim him.
Only 2% of lost cats ever find their way back home from shelters. Most lack tags or microchip identification.
When your cat is microchipped the microchip number and your phone number/s are linked on a national register as well as on the local pet register. If he wanders or is lost then a vet or shelter can easily scan for the microchip and get in touch with you. If your cat tolerates collars, a tag with your phone details allows anyone who finds him to contact you.
We microchipped Nikolai in case he decided to inspect his kingdom again and he is happily waiting for his original owner to return.
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