Case Studies| Animal Shelter, Boardwalk Cats Project, Plan to Scan, Veterinarian Awareness
There are few feelings greater than coming home, and every lost or displaced cat deserves that chance. That is why Alley Cat Allies advocates tirelessly for every cat to be microchipped and for immediate microchip scanning protocols in animal shelters and veterinary clinics worldwide.
Whether reunion comes after days, months, years, or even a decade, it means everything for cats and their families. And it is undeniable proof of the importance of immediate microchip scanning in every shelter, rescue, and veterinary practice.
From the unexpected to the downright miraculous, here are some of the most inspiring tales of homecoming made possible by a scan of a microchip. And this is just scratching the surface of the success stories!
- Baby, a calico who had been lost in southern California for 10 months, was reunited with her family in Florida thanks to the microchip she’d been given at a vet check just one year before her escape.
- Ozzie, a tabby who went missing during a California wildfire in 2017, was presumed dead. Six years and a microchip scan later, his owners received a call with the miraculous news that Ozzie was still alive and ready to come home!
- Lucky the orange tabby turned up in Kansas after going missing from her Florida home two years earlier. How she made it all the way to the Midwest is a mystery, but her microchip is what allowed animal control to get in touch with her owner in Miami.
- In South Carolina, 18-year-old Shyla had been missing for 4 years when a microchip scan allowed her to be reunited with her owner and return home to live out her golden years.
- Piper, whose owner had been searching for her for years with no results, was eventually turned in to a shelter, scanned for a microchip, and returned home—after being missing for 9 years!
- When Merlin the cat was barely recognizable to his family due to burns sustained in the Marshall Fire in Boulder County, Colorado, his microchip allowed them to confirm his identity and reunite with him as he received treatment.
- Fergus, a cat who went missing in Scotland in late 2010, was reunited with his family after more than 11 years thanks to a scan of his microchip.
- Gizmo’s family was “super shocked” when they got the call that he had been found nearly 10 years after going missing from his Las Vegas home. A scan of his microchip made the unlikely reunion possible.
- Because her microchip was finally scanned, brown tabby Loli was brought back to her ecstatic owner nearly 12 years after escaping her Ontario, Canada, home.
- After 6 long years away from her family, Monkey Face was finally brought back to her home in San Antonio, Texas, thanks to a scan of her microchip.
- Dex was reunited with his family in Pennsylvania thanks to a scan of his microchip in New York222 miles away from his home!
- After a decade apart, a Scotland couple was reunited with their cat, Forbes, when the local SPCA found him and scanned his microchip.
- A family in Norfolk, England was “stunned” upon receiving a phone call that 14-year-old cat Rose had been found. Rose had been missing for 13 long years, and a scan of a microchip finally brought her home!
- In a sweet story, Cookie in San Antonio, Texas, was reunited with her family after three years missing thanks to a scan of her microchip by local animal services.
- When a cat protection group in the UK scanned stray cat Liquorice for a microchip, they discovered his family had been searching for him for nine monthsand that he was 20 miles away from his Hampshire home. Liquorice and his family were thrilled to be reunited!
- Senior cat Phoebe was able to live out her final days with her loving owner after they spent 20 entire years apart. Phoebe, who went missing in 2001, was discovered by the RSPCA in Cheshire, England, and reunited through a scan of her microchip.
- After 14 years lost, Jess was finally reunited with his family in Isle of Wight, England, thanks to his microchip. His owners had kept their registered information up to date, and it paid off when they got that miraculous call!
- Orange tabby Alexander slipped out his New Jersey home’s screen door one day and was gone for two years. Thanks to a scan of his microchip by a local animal shelter, he was able to return home safe and sound.
- Bernie’s family was resigned to never seeing him again after he disappeared from their Florence, Kentucky home. Five and a half years later, they got the most baffling call: Bernie had been identified thanks to his microchip…and was more than 1,000 miles away in Waco, Texas. Bernie has since traveled the thousand miles back home for a sweet reunion.
- After being wrongfully trapped and relocated away from his home on the Hawaiian Island of Maui, Merlin the cat was brought back into the arms of his family thanks to a scan of his microchip.
- Calico Patches was believed deceased along with her owner in the aftermath of a mudslide in Montecito, California, in 2018. But she lived, and was brought into an animal shelter three years later, where a scan of her microchip revealed her identity. Patches has since been reunited with her owner’s partner.
- After 10 years missing, Cuddly was reunited with his family in Waterloo, Ontario, when a local Humane Society found him and finally scanned him for his microchip.
- Mordecai was separated from his family as they fled the 2017 fires in North Bay, California. The orange tabby was found once again by a local rescue organization three years later, and the organization’s policy to scan every cat for a microchip finally brought Mordecai home.
- Des Moines, Iowa cat Lottie was identified by his microchip and finally brought back to his family after four years away from them. He came home just in time for the holidays.
- “Christmas miracle” cat Benny was reunited with his family in December 2020 after going missing from his Rochester, New Hampshire home seven years ago. A scan of his microchip identified him and brought him back where he belonged.
- Fluffy cat Art became lost in September 2019 after climbing out of a window of his Rochester, Minnesota house. More than a year later, he was identified when his microchip was scannedand he’d roamed nearly an hour away from his home! He’s since been reunited with his family.
- Frank the cat was brought back into his family’s arms after seven years thanks to a scan of his microchip.
- A ten-year-old girl in Woking, Surrey, was reunited with her missing cat, Timmy, after nine months apart. Timmy was identified through a scan of his microchip by a local organization.
- Ameeka, a London cat who traveled 150 miles away from her home, was returned to her family after a scan of her microchip revealed her identity.
- Also in the UK, five-year-old Ruby was brought back home after two years missing. It was all thanks to a scan of her microchip!
- In Wales, Mo the 11-year-old black cat was able to come home after eight years away because the RSPCA scanned him for his microchip. He’d been living under the care of someone else, who had no clue his family was nearby!
- A local SPCA in Christchurch, New Zealand, was able to reunite tortie Angel with her family after seven long years apart thanks to her microchip.
- Because of his microchip, Koji the cat was able to come back to his family in Leicester, UK, after two years missing.
- Halesowen, England cat Tibby was found five miles away from the home he’d gone missing from months before. A man who looked after Tibby outdoors brought him to a rescue center to be rehomed, and his family was finally identified thanks to a scan of his microchip.
- Black cat Kitty, who is deaf, was missing from her home since 2007 when she was finally identified through her microchip in summer 2020. Her family was stunned to learn she was still alive, and grateful for the lasting power of a microchip.
- After eight months away from home, black cat Sparkle is back with his family in South Wales. It’s all thanks to “magical microchipping,” through which his family could be contacted.
- Smokey, a cat who went missing in Auckland, New Zealand, for five months, was able to enjoy a happy homecoming after a scan of her microchip revealed her identity and family. Without a microchip, reunion would have been all but impossible.
- A Utah woman reunited with her cat, Mocha, after thirteen years apart thanks to Mocha’s microchip. Even more than a decade later, a microchip can bring a family back together. This is the power of microchipping every cat, and a commitment to immediate scanning in shelters and other rescue organizations.
- “Microchips work,” said Hobbs the cat’s family when they were reunited with him after 10 years apart thanks to a scan.
- Taunton, New Hampshire cat Nitro is now back in his family’s arms after going missing for nine months. A scan of his microchip made the happy reunion possible.
- The owner of Gizmo, a cat who went missing for six years, was delighted to be reunited with her feline family member after so long. She also wondered why it took so long for somebody to scan Gizmo’s microchip, which made the reunion possible.
- Thanks to a microchip, the Alley Cat Allies Recovery Center® in Northern California was able to reunite Dexter the cat with his family after he spent almost 100 days alone in the burn zone of the deadly Camp Fire.
- In 2019 Connecticut, Dooley the cat finally came home after three years because an animal control officer scanned her for her microchip.
- Bear the Burmese cat was brought home after wandering a whopping 200 miles away from his family in Cardiff, Wales. The RSPCA could never have known where he belonged without scanning for his microchip.
- Microchips also brought Loki, Miss Lucy, and Mario back to their families.
- Barry, a 3-year-old indoor cat, escaped from his family’s Delaware house in mid-July. Four days later, his owners got a call that he was 60 miles away in Pennsylvania, according to a news report.
- Across the pond, a cat in the United Kingdom went home after four long years. His microchip was praised for bringing the lost cat to his family.
- A feline from Oregon traveled 3,500 miles to Montana before he was scanned for a microchip and reunited with his owner.
Learn more about how microchipping and scanning for microchips save lives.