The cat came back, but it took five years.
A volunteer from Winnipeg Lost Cat Assistance, a group that tries to return lost cats to their families, found Fluffy in a Winnipeg neighbourhood — nearly 250 kilometres from the Killarney home where he vanished — earlier this month.
Rosanne Turski, the group member who found Fluffy, said she was shocked to find out how long the senior cat had been missing.
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Bella with her cat Fluffy, after he went missing five years ago.
“I’ve never lost a cat, so I couldn’t imagine what someone’s going through, first of all, when they lose a cat, and then searching and all these years go by,” Turski said.
“Eventually, you probably think you’re never going to see them again. I’m sure that for the family, it brings so much closure and so much happiness and excitement.”
Turski, who has been with the group since 2019, saw a post on Facebook about a cat in the Weston neighbourhood that didn’t seem to have an owner, and she decided to look for him.
Within 10 minutes after going to the area, Turski said she spotted the grey long-haired cat. She called his name and he ran to her, rubbing against her legs. It didn’t take long to get him in a carrier and take him home to look for his owners, she added.
Turski said she’s rescued many senior cats before that don’t have anyone looking for them.
Fluffy’s unique ear tattoo helped locate his family, she said, noting the marking is in his left ear; Manitoba veterinarians generally place tattoos inside the right ear, so there was good chance the cat was originally from Alberta or Saskatchewan, where the other ear is favoured.
“The fact that there’s an owner or a family who is missing the cat and ready to open their arms back and take him back immediately is amazing,” Turski said. “It’s really heartwarming.”
The cat was in fairly good condition, Turski said. For that reason, she believes someone was looking after him for all or some of the time he was missing.
Bella, her owner, was living in Killarney with her parents when Fluffy went missing. She said being reunited last week was like seeing a ghost.
Bella asked that her last name not be used.
In Killarney, Fluffy was allowed to go outside. One day, they let him out and he didn’t come back.
Bella lives in Winnipeg now. She took Fluffy in and is getting him the vet care he needs to put on weight and make sure he’s healthy. She’s hoping to find a friend or family member to adopt him; she has two cats now.
“I do want him to be an indoor cat because he deserves it,” she said, adding Fluffy is nearly 14 years old. “He deserves retirement.”
As long as he’s warm, fed and safe, she figures he won’t care who takes him in.
Fluffy’s story goes to show there is a possibility of finding a lost cat, even long after it disappears.
jura.mcilraith@freepress.mb.ca