A lot can happen in a decade.
Ten years ago, Richard Price and his family were staying at his sister’s house on Long Island, New York, when their long-haired cat Mimi got out. The family looked everywhere, put up flyers, and contacted local veterinarian’s offices in search of their cat, but Mimi never turned up.
Several years ago, Richard and his family moved to Spain. They assumed Mimi was lost forever, but over ten years later, they received a call from the town of Brookhaven Animal Shelter.
Someone had discovered an extremely malnourished cat whose fur had matted so badly shelter supervisor Linda Klampfl described it as a “shield of armor.” After they cleaned her up and scanned her microchip, they found out the cat belonged to the Price family.
Linda says she has no idea how long Mimi was living on the streets. The cat can’t talk to tell her story, and it’s impossible to judge by her condition alone. All we know for sure is Mimi finally found her way to the right humans to get her back home!
Richard couldn’t believe his ears when he heard Mimi had been found.
“Oh my god she’s alive, this is fantastic,” he recalls thinking. “And oh my god we left her there.”
“We felt both elated and horrified at the same time,” he added.
Aside from being underweight, the 13-year-old cat is in good health. She’ll stay with relatives for a while before Richard can fly back to the States to bring her to her new home.
Welcome home, Mimi! Her family will likely never know where she spent the past ten years, but all that matters is she’s back where she belongs now.
Share this story with anyone who’s never given up on finding a lost pet.
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