A BORDER crossing cat which went missing in Belgium almost a year ago has been reunited with its owner – thanks to the Cramar Cat Sanctuary near Alvechurch, writes Neil Gordon.
The cat’s tale began in May last year in the Flemish city of Ghent when five year old moggy Lucy went missing.
Somehow, ten months later, she found herself at Pilkington Automotive in Kings Norton.
It is believed she travelled the 330 miles unnoticed on one of Pilkington’s lorries.
Staff there started looking after Lucy unaware she’s crossed The English Channel.
And then one of the employees asked his daughter who works at Cramar Cat Sanctuary to find out where she came from.
Their vet, who examined the cat, said: “When Lucy came in she was very dirty but her weight was fine and she was in a very good condition, which surprised us when we knew how long she had been living rough.
“Despite being a domestic cat she obviously was a skilled hunter managing to fend for herself for so long.”
But when staff scanned Lucy’s microchip they were in for a surprise – as they discovered Lucy had journeyed all the way from Belgium.
A member of staff called her owners, Carine de Potter and Hugo Standaert, and told them Lucy was safe and well – in England.
They told staff at Cramar that she was named after the Beatles song Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds.
Lucy’s pet passport was duly posted to the sanctuary and once vaccinated on Sunday she was driven to Dover by sanctuary staff where she was reunited with her owners.
By 8pm she was back at home in Belgium for the first time in a year.
A spokesperson for the Sanctuary said: “We have many cats that come into the rescue centre who are not microchipped, so imagine how amazed we were to find not only a microchip but a Belgian one.
“We were able to contact her owners and this proves that micro chipping works and we cannot emphasise enough that all cat owners should ensure that they do this.”
