PDSA reunite chatty cat, Boo, with her owners after SEVEN long years apart

12 October 2022

Thanks to the dedication of the Bradford PDSA Pet Hospital team, Boo was reunited with her owner, Angie, seven years after she went missing.

When Boo, a loving black and white cat, went missing on 18 January 2015, Angie’s world was turned upside down.

She explained: “We were shocked and so upset when we realised our beloved Boo was missing. She never left the garden, but she was definitely an inquisitive cat, so we’d always wondered if she’d perhaps jumped inside a delivery van. It was such a tough time for us all. The years went by, but we never stopped talking about Boo and what may have happened to her.”

Seven years after she had gone missing, Boo was brought into Bradford PDSA as a stray. In an attempt to reunite her with her owners, the team at Bradford located her microchip details. The telephone number listed was no longer in service, so a letter was sent to the address registered on Boo’s chip to explain what had happened, in the hope they could reunite Boo with her owner.

Angie explained: “We were away when we found out a letter intended for us had been sent to our old address (where Boo’s chip was registered). Fortunately, we’re still good friends with the family who bought our old house, so they kept hold of the letter until we got home. We opened the letter and couldn’t believe what it said - I had to reread it several times! I contacted Bradford PDSA immediately and arranged for us to go and pick her up. We were in complete disbelief but we hurried to the pet shop, excited to buy a new cat bed and food bowls for her.”

Katharine Foster, Client Services Manager at Bradford PDSA, said: “While she unknowingly waited to reunite with her owners, Boo was definitely a model kennel guest. She liked to have a chat with everyone who went into the cat ward, and food time was definitely her favourite part of the day!

“Boo’s story is a real-life example of just how important it is to have your pet microchipped, no matter their species. Making sure their microchip details are kept up to date too means that you are much more likely to reunite with your pet should they get lost or stolen. Moving house can be very chaotic and stressful, and this is something that is easily forgotten, so make sure you add it to your change of address to-do list. We also recommend setting an annual reminder to check the details, and to update phone numbers if required.”

Angie visited Bradford PDSA Pet Hospital to see her beloved Boo for the first time since 2015. She continued: “I walked into a room to see my Boo sitting there! I was over the moon to see her alive, and it suddenly became very real that she was coming home to me after all of these years.”

Upon collecting Boo, Angie kindly donated £200 to PDSA as a thank you for the team’s efforts in bringing her back home.

Angie added: “It’s been a few weeks since I picked her up and Boo has settled at home as if she had never been away. She has two dog sisters now, which she is delighted about (the dogs not so much!). Just as before, Boo continues to be the most loving, but noisiest cat we’ve ever known - she’s a real chatterbox, but we wouldn’t have it any other way.

“We are over the moon to have our beloved Boo back home with us, and we can’t thank PDSA enough for tracking us down.”