An Adelaide teacher was reunited with her beloved cat when he returned home after he had been on the run for about two-and-a-half years.
George went missing from owner Jessica’s* new Davoren Park home in Adelaide’s north in 2022, a few minutes after Jessica had brought him home from a walk on a leash.
“I’d been taking him outside wearing a harness and a leash to help him get used to his new surroundings,” Jessica said.
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“I’d brought him back inside and taken his leash off but not his harness, and then I had to go out briefly.
“While I was out, one of our housemates accidentally left the laundry door open and George ran off still wearing his harness.”
George was spotted last month near a workplace in Edinburgh, 7km from home, with a strap hanging down from its neck.
“This cat had been living in drainpipes near my work for years, and we’d been putting food out for it occasionally,” Courtney*, who reported George to the RSCPA said.
“I now know that the rope was the body band of the harness this cat was wearing when he ran off — it must have been hidden under his fur and had finally snapped because this was the first time we noticed it.”
The RSPCA provided Courtney with a cat trap and she managed to catch him after a few days, only for him to escape when another worker tried to feed him.
Courtney reset the trap and five days later, on July 26, George was caught again.
A microchip helped an RSPCA animal care centre reunite him with Jessica.
“When I got the call, I said ‘no way!’,”Jessica said.
“It’s my birthday next Tuesday, and having George back has to be about the best present I’ve ever had.”
A great story to tell
Jessica had adopted George and one of his sisters, Dusky, four years ago while she was living with her parents at Evanston Gardens, in Adelaide’s north.
Two years later, she and her partner moved to the house in Davoren Park and adopted a German shepherd puppy named Rex, who got along with George.
“George was helping to keep Rex in line,” Jessica said.
George went missing only a week after they had moved in.
Now that the pair have been reunited, Jessica, who is a primary school teacher, also has a heart-warming story to tell her students.
“I showed them photos of what George looks like and some pictures of us being reunited,” Jessica said.
“They had lots of questions and ideas about where he might have gone.”
The RSPCA said George’s story was a reminder of the importance of microchipping.
“RSPCA SA reminds cat owners that microchipping is a legal requirement under SA’s Dog and Cat Management Act and is the most surefire way of ensuring cats are returned to their owners if they go missing,” a spokesperson said.
*Full name withheld for privacy