“Total disbelief”: Sacramento cat that went missing for over half its life heartwarmingly returned to owners thanks to one tiny microchip

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Blake Seidel • Managing Editor & Brand Manager
Jun 16, 2025 11:00 AM EDT

Howdy, feline fam. We're waking you up on Meownday morning with an emeowtional rollercoaster of a story - one that involves loss and defeat. But when all seems hopeless, a meowracle happens. This pawrent adopted their floofy feline when they were only 16 years old. They kept her as an indoor/outdoor cat (not recommended by us, as you will see what happens in a few sentences), and one day, she just didn't come home. Days lost turned into months, and months turned into years. The pawrent had just about given up hope of finding her purrecious cat ever again.

Until one day, a "stray cat" was taken into the Sacramento ASPCA. The employees scanned for a microchip, and voila! After nearly six years of being lost, this cute cat was finally found. The owner was called and, upon arriving at the shelter, the cat recognized her immediately and ran straight into her arms. Now, at 13 years old, the cat is purring sweetly at home and enjoying her retirement. Scroll down to read more below!

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  • 01
    Cheezburger Image 10517261312
    via Jessica Kinsey

    Read the full CBS News article here. Scroll down for more meowrvelous comments!

  • 02
    oleblueeyes75 I may have posted this story here before, but this happened with my sister in law's tuxedo cat. He went out one morning and didn't come back so they assumed the worst.
    via u/oleblueeyes75
  • 03
    Years later they got a call from the shelter from which he had originally been adopted he was back! -
    via u/oleblueeyes75
  • 04
    Turns out some elderly neighbors let him in their house on that long ago morning and never let him out again. When they passed, one of their relatives took him to the shelter where his chip was scanned.
    via u/oleblueeyes75

  • Microchip your cats. Get them fixed. And most importantly - keep them indoors. We know cats can be hard to train. We currently have an orange cat that makes our lives… interesting. But we've found solutions to make it work, and it's better than keeping them outside. They deserve the comforts of your homes (and by your homes, we mean their homes).

  • 05
    [deleted] My son has a friend whose cat disappeared. Whoever took the cat took it to a local vet, the chip was scanned, the vet told the friend, but wouldn't tell them who had the cat.
    via reddit
  • 06
    LOST KITTEN REWARD
    via Jupiterimages

    This image is for illustration only, and the subjects are models; the image does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • 07
    bingold49 The cat was quoted saying, "what did you do with my food dish?"
    via u/bingold49
  • 08
    SwordButt Keep your cats inside and it wouldn't be a problem.
    via u/SwordButt
  • 09
    aod42091 I'll never understand people who just take animals off the streets without thought and the people who let their cats outdoors.
    via u/aod42091
  • 10
    _Morvar_ Love to see a positive story like this! Please, people commenting, keep excessive negativity out of this sub...
    via u/_Morvar_

  • Sure, there is a lot to comment about here, but at I Can Has Cheezburger, we like to focus on the pawsitive! Now this sweet senior gets to live out her days in peace and quiet. Hopefully with lots of treats, snuggles, and naps in the sun!

  • 11
    SkinkeDraven69 Imo this is mildyinteresting. It would be upliftingnews if I knew the cat personally. While a cool story this has zero relevance to me
    via u/SkinkeDraven69
  • 12
    Cheezburger Image 10517266432
    via Meyurert Gonullu from Pexels

    This image is for illustration only, and the subjects are models; the image does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • 13
    alotofmangos I microchipped my first cat in 2018. He was stolen in 2019 and i just reunited last week thanks to the microchip. The people who had him, abandoned him at a vet.
    via u/alotofmangos
  • 14
    ja6754 I wish this would happen with my cat that has been missing since Feb 2020.
    via u/ja6754
  • 15
    cafeyvino4 My dog came back to me this way! After 4.5 years. She was well taken care of and I'm so happy the couple was okay with giving her back. She's still with us at 13 years old.
    via u/cafeyvino4
  • 16
    USS_Slowpoke Wish the chip could have like a GPS on it or something.
    via u/USS_Slowpoke
  • 17
    stargazingcat_ My cat went missing (indoor rescue, approx 7ish years old had been a stray adopted by an older fella who was now in care, so street savvyish) in summer 2021.
    via u/stargazingcat_
  • 18
    An absolute angel of a lady got in touch in Feb 2022 to say she was living in her shed. It was a communal shed and an absolute riot, you got scratched to pieces. as an adult human walking into the thing. My cat eventually trusted the lady who was feeding her and we got her back!
    via u/stargazingcat_
  • 19
    I'm so, so grateful she came home, and eternally grateful to the lady who found her.
    via u/stargazingcat_
  • 20
    ShortBrownAndUgly Cat probably didn't give a f..
    via u/ShortBrownAndUgly

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Tags

adoption heartwarming microchip animal rescue adopted cat owners feline cat rescue forever home Cats loving animals rescue
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