16-year-old stray cat gets rescued from a storm and is reunited with family after being lost for 4 years: 'When we called the number on the chip, the woman on the other end was stunned'

Microchip your cats and keep the microchips updated. You never know when they might save your cat.

Cats are curious by nature. Even the most spoiled housecat who had everything that it could possibly want right at its paw-tips will still attempt to run out the door sometimes. It's not because they are unhappy. It's just the curiosity. It's wanting to see the world. It's wanting to go through the forbidden door and see what's out there. Any cat can do it, especially ones on ground floors or houses instead of apartments. You never know when your cat might run away and get lost.

It's heartbreaking when your cat gets lost. You know how spoiled they are, how silly, how much they rely on you. You know that they probably wouldn't survive out there on their own for long. You look for them, you cry for them, but sometimes, they are too far to hear you. But if there's a microchip, then there is hope. Even four whole years down the line, when you have accepted that your cat is no longer coming back, you might still reunite with your cat. Get them microchipped if you can, and if you do, keep that information updated.

01

via MSPCA-Angell
02

via MSPCA-Angell
03

via MSPCA-Angell
04

via MSPCA-Angell
05

via MSPCA-Angell
06

via MSPCA-Angell
07

via MSPCA-Angell
08

via MSPCA-Angell
09

via MSPCA-Angell
10

via MSPCA-Angell
11

via MSPCA-Angell
12

via MSPCA-Angell
The fact that this family, against all odds of finding their little kitty, kept the microchip updated, tells you so much about who they are. We can only imagine the heartbreak that they went through when they lost him back then, the pain that everyone felt. After four years, we are sure that they had lost hope, that they never expected to see him again, that they feared the worst. But he came back to them. He was never too far from home, always just out of reach, and eventually, the stars aligned again, and he was brought back to his forever home.
13

via Kristen Adams
14

via Kristen Adams
The fact that he remembers his home so clearly is honestly such an emotional part of this. The way that he immediately knew his way around, didn't forget, didn't so much as think about it before finding his favorite spots again after all these years and heading right for them. This really is his forever home. He just got a little lost trying to find his way back to it. And now, he's back, and it was like he was never gone. He just had a couple of fascinating stories to tell you around the dinner table.
15

via Jennifer Gray
16

via Jennifer Gray
17

via Kathleen Bacon
18

via Nicki Dragani Luti
19

via Delores Barboza Boucher
20

via Rena Berry