Natalie Wright was devastated when Ozzy, her beloved cat, disappeared from her English residence in 2009.
She spent the first few months following Ozzy’s disappearance doing everything in her power to find sweet Ozzy.
She posted on social media and even followed a few leads, but in the end, she came up empty handed.
Natalie was forced to face the realization that Ozzy wouldn’t be returning home.
Fast forward 13 years.
A Mysterious Guest
Rescuers from Hector’s House Cat Rescue received a call about a cat at a holiday park (an English campsite) needing medical attention.
The cat was in desperate need of medical attention and volunteers from Hector’s House wasted no time rushing to the rescue.
The cat was then posted on social media to see if he belonged to anyone.
As fortune would have it, Natalie happened to be scrolling through social media that day.
She looked at the picture and thought, “Oh my god, that’s Ozzy!”
“His features looked the same and his coloring, I was sure it was him but also didn’t want to get my hopes up,” Natalie told the Daily Mail. “I wondered whether he could even still be alive.”
Natalie arranged a meeting with Hector’s House and met the mysterious cat face-to-face.
She compared an old picture of Ozzy to the cat in front of her.
A Beautiful Reunion
Natalie was right– this cat was in fact, Ozzy!
“I can’t believe he’s been found. It’s amazing,” said Natalie.
The holiday park Ozzy was discovered at just happened to be 8 miles away from her home.
Ozzy had been much closer that she’d thought for all those years.
“I can’t believe he’s been found. It’s amazing,” said Natalie.
Natalie was thrilled to be reunited with her beloved Ozzy.
She scooped him up and took him back to his rightful home after 13 years.
Home at Last
“It was like he never left,” said Natalie.
Ozzy definitely remembered his home.
He immediately recognized his old fur siblings, a cat and dog who’d been patiently waiting for his return for all those years.
”When we got home, I knew he was the one. He just settled in,” said Natalie.
Ozzy then walked over to his previous favorite sleeping spot as if he’d never left in the first place.
Zara Oldfield, founder of Hector’s House, said, “It’s an amazing turn of events. It’s very unusual for a cat to be reunited with their owner after 13 years.”
Ozzy had set a new record for Hector’s House.
The previous Hector House record for a lost cat being reunited with its owner was 7 years.
Mystery Solved
Then there was the mystery of how a lost house cat like Ozzy had managed to survive on his own for 13 years.
It’s likely that he found refuge at the holiday park near Natalie’s home and was being fed by visitors that entire time.
Zara advised that anyone who finds a potentially lost cat should first take them to the vet and have them scanned for a microchip.
Scanning for a microchip at a vet’s office is not only free, but it’s the best way to determine if the cat has an owner.
If that fails, post a picture of the lost cat on social media (particularly Facebook) and in various lost/found or rescue groups.
These measures, along with microchipping your own pet, improve the chances of lost cats being reunited with their family.
Microchips Save Lives
National Kitty published a story about a trucker who was reunited with his lost cat in another state thanks to a microchip.
Another story details a cat who was reunited with its owner after 6 years because of its microchip.
These stories are a testament to the usefulness of a microchip.
For the safety of your pets, be sure to microchip them, renew the microchip annually (or however often specified by the MC provider), and keep your contact information updated!