Skip navigation
advertisement

Cat came back — 13 years after going missing

Long-lost pet reunited with owners after being turned in at animal hospital

Video
  Cat returns after 13 years astray
Nov. 12: A pet cat returns to its owners more than 13 years after going astray. Msnbc.com's Dara Brown reports.

msnbc.com

Slideshow
Image:
  Animal Tracks
A Frisbee-playing pooch, a Scuba-diving Santa, a racing greyhound and more images of cute critters.

more photos

Pet health videos
TODAY
‘Bow to Wow’ pups, owners return to TODAY
  Dec. 18: TODAY brings back some of the shelter dogs who have been adopted after getting “Bow to Wow” makeovers on TODAY.

updated 9:45 p.m. ET Nov. 11, 2008

SANTA ROSA, Calif. - A couple recently had an unexpected reunion with an old housemate: their pet cat who went missing more than 13 years ago. George, who was last seen by Melinda Merman and Frank Walburg in 1995, was turned into an animal hospital after the manager of a mobile home park trapped the sickly feline.

A microchip implanted in George allowed him to be traced back to his owners.

Merman said after George went missing she visited animal shelters and wrote to veterinarians in search of the gray, yellow-eyed cat, who now weighs less than half what he used to.

Story continues below ↓
advertisement | your ad here

But Merman and Walburg said the cat is now eating well and displaying some of his old behavior, like jumping at flickering light on the wall the way he used to.

Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Resource guide