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Tai found Michael Naso in the fall of 2008, when she started following him and his dog, Dublin, a foxhound, on their long 2-3-mile walks. The cat lady who lived next door kept noticing Tai following them, and eventually, gifted Michael ownership of the sweet kitty. There was love right away. A story truly worthy of the CDS.
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via ICanHasCheezburger -
When Michael moved back north, he was a touring musician, so his younger brother, offered to look after Tai while he was gone. Except things took a turn when his brother and his wife went to have their second child, and they left Tai at the house. When they returned, she was gone. Michael drove back to John's house, and, as he told ICanHasCheezburger, “the mystery started there.”
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03 via ICanHasCheezburger
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Through his friendship with the local police chief, he was able to investigate on his own. He discovered that a man had found Tai, kept her for 2-3 days, and then returned her to the local shelter. The shelter falsely registered her microchip under the man's name, and someone from the shelter ended up keeping her. "Truly a great way to make a cat disappear from the world," Michael said.
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04 via ICanHasCheezburger
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Phone calls to the microchip company didn’t help much. Michael described the late-night conversations as cryptic question-and-answer sessions, but he managed to deduce an address from the information he received. Tai had been registered to someone living just 0.8 miles from his brother's house. The police contacted the man, who said he didn't have Tai and confirmed that he had turned her in to the local shelter.
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A fluffy calico cat sleeping peacefully on grass.
Not actual story subjects.
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Over the 4.5-year period she was missing, Michael discovered that Tai had been moved in and out of the shelter as many as four times. Then, one February day in 2018, a completely unexpected coincidence brought them back together.
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A very fluffy calico cat with white, brown and black fur and orange eyes.
Model portrayal.
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Michael was playing the piano in his New Hampshire apartment and decided to check Craigslist for free music equipment. While scrolling, he came across a post describing… Tai. "There was a posting describing Tai to the T, literally," he recalled. He drove to the same town where everything had happened years earlier and went to a woman's house. As she opened the door, there was Tai, standing on the table and looking right at him.
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A cute calico cat peeking out from under a soft purple blanket.
Licensed media provided as editorial context.
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Michael had a feeling he was looking at his long-lost cat, and he was right. "The face, the markings, and the meow - that very distinct sound..." he recalled. As he approached, the woman told him, "She doesn't like to be picked up though." But Michael knew his cat better. He gently picked her up, and Tai immediately nuzzled against his chin, letting him know right away that she still remembered him and still loved him.
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Calico cat sleeps peacefully on a green surface.
Photo is a representation of scenes.
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The woman was overjoyed. Michael drove back upstate with Tai, completely in shock for the next few weeks. "Same cat, same personality," he said. Tai even still remembered Dublin. "It was like Tai and Dublin never missed a beat." And so, their second chapter together began.
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09
A fluffy calico cat playing on a bed.
Picture does not depict real parties.
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Sadly, Tai crossed the rainbow bridge in June 2025, at approximately 16 years old. But Michael wanted everyone to know that she had a wonderful life, and that through their reunion, Tai was able to get the retirement she truly deserved. "What an awesome cat, truly remarkable," he said. And we couldn't agree more. Michael finished with three little words that perfectly capture his story with this special cat: "Live Free or Tai."
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A very fluffy calico cat playing on a bed.
Still frame for contextual reference only.
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