Most people think of their pets as their own flesh and blood. We tend to form such close bonds with them that we’d be lost if they would suddenly disappear. The worst part of dealing with a lost pet is that you’ll forever wonder if someone actually took them, or if they just went for a stroll and got disoriented, never being able to find their way back. Sadly, every year thousands of house pets randomly get lost, leaving their owners completely heartbroken, as they know there’s not a chance in heck that they’ll ever see their pets again. But a 17-year-old cat has given Janet Adamowicz the shock of her life when it finally found its way back home to her loving arms after being gone since 2005.And like any cat owner would do, she quickly plastered a bunch of “missing cat” posters all around town, and even went as far as to put an ad in the local newspaper. Her beloved Boo was gone, but she would leave no rock left unturned in order to find it.
So after a year os so, Mrs Adamowicz realized it was time to call off the search. Perhaps, if Boo ever found his way home or had been rescued by another family, she’d eventually find out. But she knew that was a long shot.
And the best way to get over Boo’s disappearance was to give a home to two other cats who needed it badly. So in 2008, she adopted Ollie, who had only three legs. Then in 2014, she got Tessie. Despite loving these cats to pieces, nothing could ever replace Boo.
Mrs Adamowicz said, “Boo was very lively as a young kitten and enjoyed the outdoors and adventuring – but would always return home.” Still, after being gone for 13 years, she felt Boo would only live in her memories…until she got one phone call that shocked her to her very core.
But Mrs Adamowicz didn’t really understand what the caller was talking about. After all, it had been 13 years since her cat went away. She said, “I got a call on Thursday to say I had a cat missing.” Still startled, she told the person on the phone that, “I don’t think I do, they’re both here – but they said we’ve looked on the system it says you own a cat called Boo.”
She made her way to the Wicstun Vets in York, and against all odds, she quickly discovered that indeed, what the called said was true. Her beloved Boo somehow found its way home after all. “I thought it was weird, but I couldn’t believe it when I got to the vets and they had her there – and she still remembered me,” she said.
Boo looked a little disgruntled and beaten down, and it was obvious that it had been struggling and living on the streets. It was a bit dehydrated too, but the vets took wonderful care of the adventurous cat who somehow managed to get back to her arms. “I don’t know where she had been, I think possibly a stray but kept being fed by strangers – or catching her own food,” Mrs Adamowicz said.
The vets urge every pet owner to put a microchip on their cat, that way, you can easily find them should they get disoriented or lost. A spokesperson at Wicstun Vets in York talked about the many miles Boo had to walk to get back to its owner, ‘Somehow she has traveled over 40 miles from home – she might have done that last week or 13 years ago.” They went on to explain how some cats manage to survive when they’re lost, “It’s not uncommon for cats to nap in vans, sadly waking up to find themselves many miles away from where they should be.”
Not only did Boo recognize her immediately, but within a few moments, it was going crazy happy, meowing all over the place, rubbing against its human mom, enjoying face rubs and being the same loving cat it had always been. “Let us reassure you that there wasn’t a dry eye in the building,” the rep went on to say.
