Cat’s Nine Lives All Used Up During Six Years Missing

With the animal world spending the last few weeks fully focused on the pedigree dogs at Crufts, you could be forgiven for forgetting about our feline friends. But for one happy cat lover, March has seen the return of her lost cat, Beau after 6 years missing.

Nikki Baylis, from London, had her cat's microchipped and registered with Petlog, the UK's largest pet reunification database, in case they were lost or stolen. Unfortunately for Nikki, two of her cats did disappear and have been missing for several years now.

"Beau went missing on April 13^th 2002", explained Nikki. "Then I received a call last week from the RSPCA explaining that they had picked up a cat they believe d to be mine. They had scanned him and found the Bayer microchip with all my details. The RSPCA officer asked if, after 6 years I still wanted him. I'm sure they must come across people who would say no, but that wasn't an option as far as I was concerned."

Nikki continued, "Sadly, Beau was not in great condition when he was found. He had been sporadically visiting a lady several streets away from where I live over the years. One day he turned up in such a bad state that she called the RSPCA.  He was caught up in a plastic bag, emaciated with some nasty wounds on the back of his legs. It turned out that he had a dislocated hip but that has now been operated on and he is recovering. I am giving him lots of love and TLC."

Sadly, thousands of pets go missing every year and many are not reunited with their owners as they do not have any form of identification. Beau's remarkable and emotional story is just one of the many success stories where pets have been reunited because their owners have taken responsibility for their pet's safety and welfare by having a microchip painlessly inserted under the pet's skin.

Nikki added, "Where I live, Waltham Forest Borough offers a service to its residents whereby they can get their pet's microchipped for just £15. I can't stress enough to people who are thinking of getting an animal, to realise and honour the responsibility that comes with that ownership. To me, my animals are not pets but members of my family, and also my friends, who repay me one hundred fold with all the love they are able to give. I am so grateful to Petlog and the RSPCA for reuniting me with my beautiful Beau."

Caroline Kisko, Kennel Club spokesperson commented "It's really heart-warming to hear Nikki's story. This is why the Kennel Club created Petlog, to reunite owners with their missing pets. Unfortunately, it is all too easy for your pet to run off and end up lost and alone. Beau obviously found it hard coping on his own, but sounds very happy to be back with Nikki; this is one cat that seems to have used up all of his nine lives!"For more information about Petlog please visit www.petlog.org.uk.

To submit your own re-unification story, please e-mail us at petlogadmin@thekennelclub.org.uk

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