Charity Mews: Globetrotting cat mystery solved

Hi everyone,

We came across this on the Cats Protection website and just had to share it with you all:

This is Ozzie, who came to Armagh Cats Protection as a stray. Volunteers were shocked when a routine check of his microchip revealed not only that he was registered in Australia, but that he was supposedly born in 1989, making him over 25 years old!

ozzie 2

It turned out that Ozzie was microchipped in Sydney in 2000 and has since ended up in Northern Ireland.

The moggy, nicknamed Ozzie, turned up in Co Armagh, having started his journey 10,000 miles away in Sydney.

Co-ordinator Gillian McMullen says: “I responded to a call from a member of the public who was concerned about a poorly stray cat that had been hanging around her garden for several days. The poor cat was starving but obviously had been cared for in the past because it was wearing a collar.

tigger picture 1
“I took it to Willow Veterinary Clinic on the Mahon Road, Portadown, where we discovered it was microchipped and this is where the mystery begins. The cat had originally been microchipped in Australia!

“In 2004 he turned up as a stray in a vet clinic in London, but no owners could be traced.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R0nd14bvXfk

Eventually through the help of Social Media it became apparent that he is actually 15-years old as he was born in 2000 and was micro-chipped and registered down under with the name Tigger.

Tigger 2

It turns out the cat’s Aussie owners are globetrotters themselves – having travelled around the world, with their feline friend tailing them along the way.

They had left Tigger in the care of some friends in Armagh but the adventurous pet ran away and didn’t return.

The cat will now be reunited with its owners.

We hope you enjoyed this story with happy ending and don’t forget to sign-up for our Newsletter! 🙂

Thanks,

Marc

Photo Credit: Cats Protection. Video: Reuters

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43 thoughts on “Charity Mews: Globetrotting cat mystery solved

  1. SandySays1 says:

    Ozzie has a very close resemblance to my human’s cat named Mister B. Mister B DID live for 23 years and was the Geezer’s writing companion, sitting on his shoulders for hours as the old boy pounded the keys. He had no tales of travel, however. He stayed inside our house from the time I joined the household until…. He was a great friend.

  2. loisajay says:

    What an amazing story! Question for you, though: what is a moggy? I’ve seen that mentioned before but not sure if it is stray or feral cat or what. Thank you!

  3. kittiesblue says:

    Always glad to see a happy ending. Tigger seems to have had some adventures. Hope he can be brought back to full health. Thanks for sharing. Hope you will join us tomorrow for our Sunday Selfies Blog Hop. XOCK, Lily Olivia, Mauricio, Misty May, Giulietta, Fiona, Astrid, Lisbeth and Calista Jo

  4. jabrush1213 says:

    Near where I live there is an animal shelter. Every week they feature a different animal looking for a home, mainly cats and dogs, each story is as beautiful as the animal. Almost every week the animal is adopted as a pet as well as many others in the shelter as well.

  5. Nil says:

    My Dieseltiger was simply left behind when his humans moved away from the house next to mine. The new owners of the house were supposed to take care of him… It only took me a few days to realize that something was very wrong… By and by we adopted each other and he has been my loving and loved companion now for 12 years. But even with our long lasting relation I can see how easily he gets frightened that some day I might disappear too… he hasn’t forgotten it… People should be more aware that cats love their home routine, the ones that can rove around just as well. But they can also get very much attached to people they know… Now that he is growing old, I have stopped travelling all together once I saw how much it upset him. The last time I went away, now some years ago, he came running after me howling… And from the ‘support team’ I know that the first days he does not eat at all and goes into hiding. So, please, think before you make a cat live through things that are strange to his nature… 🙂

  6. angela1313 says:

    A great story and perhaps the best example I have ever seen of why proper micro-chipping is a good idea. And why you should keep the registration up to date as well. Simba is on the window seat next to me purring in my ear “Thanks for chipping me, Mom. Tell the other cats it didn’t hurt that much at all!”” All mine are indoor but there are tornados and gas leak evacuations and heaven know what to look out for.

    • Marc-André says:

      Totally agree with you. Hence why both our indoor only are also chipped. P.S. If you’d like to do a guest story for Simba feel free to message me. 😉

    • Marc-André says:

      Haha. I would have never anticipated an Aussie cat to get around this much! It’s a long flight 😮 we have some relatives near Sydney and flight drives me mad… And i am more patient when a cat on a light I would like to assume. 😉

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