CHIP CLICKS F OR LOST SOOTIE
A TOWNSVILLE family has been reunited with their lost cat more than seven years after she went missing.
Astride Messer received a call from the RSPCA last week telling her they had found her number from the feline’s microchip details.
Sootie had only been living with Mr Messer and her family for six months when she escaped out of an open front door.
Ms Messer checked with the pound every weekend for six months before fearing the worst had happened.
She said her eldest daughter Samantha, who was six at the time, was devastated.
Mrs Messer said she headed to the RSPCA after the school pick- up to collect Sootie but kept her three daughters in the dark, hoping to surprise them.
“When I got there I was filling out some paperwork when one of the RSPCA la- dies mentioned Sootie and she ( Samantha) went all teary and just said, ‘ after all this time’,” she said.
“She is actually a different cat now because before she was really timid but now she comes up for rub.
“The RSPCA said she is in good health and she isn’t skinny so I think maybe someone had taken her in or she became good at hunting.”
RSPCA Queensland education volunteer Mark Tart- telin said they would like every dog and cat in Townsville to be microchipped.
“This is a wonderful outcome for Sootie and it highlights the importance of microchipping your pets and making sure you keep your contact details up to date,” he said. “It’s a cheap, convenient and very effective way of being able to reunite missing pets with their families.”
Phone the RSPCA more details on 4774 5130. for