A lost cat has been reunited with his owners after going missing five years ago.
The feline was found over 1,200 miles away from his home. His owners, Jeff and Cindy Hall, said it’s thanks to his microchip that he was able to return home.
The Russian Blue Cat, Luke, was adopted from a local shelter 12 years ago when he was still a young kitten. At the time, the couple was living in Arizona.
According to Cindy, they had Luke for seven years before he went missing.
The pair put up flyers and spent endless hours looking for Luke around the neighborhood. Despite their best efforts, however, he remained missing.
Time passed and the pair eventually moved to Nevada.
To their surprise, they received a phone call five years later about their missing cat, who now had a new name – Sam.
In March, Pawsitively Cat, the local shelter that the couple had originally adopted Luke from, had received a message about a cat that was found in Arkansas, more than 1,200 miles from the shelter. According to shelter volunteers, they had found Luke at a Brinkley gas station while two volunteers were transporting a few dogs in their vehicles.
They were able to scoop up the kitty and bring him to a local veterinarian in Little Rock, where they were able to scan his microchip.
Pawsitively Cat was immediately notified about the kitty, as they were the ones that gave Luke his microchip. Staff at the shelter then notified his rightful owners, Cindy and Jeff Hall, who were more than delighted to learn that he was still alive.
According to the shelter, the cat was cared for by another family, who had failed to look for his original owners, during the years he was gone. It’s unknown how the feline eventually ended up at the gas station but they’re glad he was found.
The volunteers who found Luke at the gas station worked for Alone 2 Home pet transport, which drove animals to foster homes, shelters, or their forever homes. Not only did they pick up Luke from the gas station but they also transported him home to Nevada.
Volunteers initially transported him to El Paso, where he was picked up and driven by another volunteer to Tuscon. The entire ride was nearly 20 hours in length.
While cats aren’t usually fond of riding in cars, Luke allegedly traveled very nicely – even singing for his volunteers ever now and then.
The shelter noted that if Luke could talk about what had happened, it would make for a ‘fabulous story’.
After Luke made it back to Pawsitively Cat, he stayed there for a few days while his owners Cindy and Jeff drove to the shelter from Nevada.
They were eventually reunited on April 13, after more than five years.
Cindy and Jeff are grateful for all the volunteers and workers who helped him get home and described the ordeal as ‘a miracle.’ They also said their family feels complete now that Luke is back.
While Luke, now Sam, is a bit older than before, he is quickly getting used to life with his family. It’s almost as if he had never left at all.
