A microchip has helped the RSPCA reunite an elderly cat who was found just metres away from her home in Greater Manchester after being missing for two years.
Black cat Alfie, 13, was returned to her shocked owner Judith Moss after the charity had been called to Herbert Street in Droylsden, where the friendly feline had been turning up at John Street Social club for a couple of months.
She was collected by RSPCA animal rescue officer Lee Ferrans at the beginning of November after people at the social club became concerned that she wasn’t bearing weight on one of her front legs.
A scan by Lee revealed she was microchipped and had been missing from her home in John Street – which is just around the corner – for two years.
Although it’s not known where, and how far, Alfie may have been going, Mrs Moss – who walks past the social club several days a week on her way to work – said she was such a friendly-natured cat it’s likely she could have befriended a number of different people during her time away.
The RSPCA says the story illustrates why microchipping – which will be compulsory from June next year for cats aged 20 weeks and older – is the most reliable way of ensuring owners are reunited with lost, injured or stolen pets, no matter how far they have travelled or how long they have been missing.
“Alfie has always been a bit of a wanderer and she’s a very friendly cat with the loudest purr who’ll go up and say hello to anyone,” said Mrs Moss. “She had a collar on and I’d got her microchipped, and if she went off she came back.
“But obviously this time, when there was no sign of her for so long, I was beginning to think she wouldn’t return.
“It was a bit of a shock when I heard from Lee to say she’d been found, especially as I go past the social club on my way to work, it’s literally just round the corner. I’d love to know what she’s been up to for the past two years. My guess is that she’s made some friends and been getting fed somewhere, although I’d searched the area and never seen her. Maybe now she’s two years older she’ll have put her adventures behind her and stay put – I hope so!”
Alfie (who was Mrs Moss’ daughter’s cat originally and at first thought to be male) has settled in well since she returned home and has been reunited with Rosie, the other cat in the household.
“More often than not when I pick up a stray cat, the animal isn’t microchipped which is frustrating, especially when you suspect the cat is owned and is probably someone’s pet and you want to be able to return them home,” said Lee, who thanked everyone at John Street Social for looking out for Alfie.
He added: “I was a bit flabbergasted when I found out how long she’d been missing for. Apart from a minor issue with her leg, she was in really good condition for a cat of her age. Her coat was lovely and I think she’s definitely had people looking out for her. Stories like this show that microchipping works, and how important it is to keep your contact details up to date, and I’m delighted to have been able to reunite her with Judith.”
It was announced by the government in March that from 10 June 2024 it will be a legal requirement to microchip pet cats once they reach 20 weeks of age. Owners will also be required to keep their contact details up-to-date on a pet microchipping database. People who fail to do so will have 21 days to get one implanted or they may face a fine of up to £500.
The easy and painless procedure involves a tiny microchip being quickly and simply inserted under the animal’s skin, which then gives the pet their own unique code. The microchip can be scanned and matched to the owner’s contact details which are kept on a database. The RSPCA believes the optimum time to microchip a cat is when they are neutered as a kitten at around four-months-old and under anaesthetic.
If an owner moves house or changes their telephone number they must also make sure that they tell the database they are registered with so that they have up-to-date contact details. If the information on that database is old and out-of-date then the chip is useless. Telling your vet does not automatically update the details on the database, but this is something owners can do themselves online.
Whilst the RSPCA is delighted to see cat microchipping laws being introduced in England, the charity is also hopeful that the Welsh Government will act and introduce compulsory microchipping for cats too.
In January this year, a microchip helped the RSPCA to reunite a cat who’d been missing for seven years. Black and white Raffael disappeared from his home in Old Trafford in December 2016. He was picked up by one of the charity’s officers in Longsight after someone had reported him injured in their garden. A scan revealed he was microchipped and the charity was able to return him to his delighted family who lived about five miles away.
Information about what to do if you find a lost or stray cat is available on the RSPCA’s website.
