Family members were left fearing the worst when their cat went missing just before they were due to move house, but one text message changed everything.
For a long time, it looked like Bowie the one-eyed rescue cat would never be found. “Bo got out back in April. His family was packing and mid-move from Los Angeles to Boston,” Angela Trotti told Newsweek. “They put up flyers all around the neighborhood and stayed a few extra weeks in LA hoping to find Bo but never did.”
That was how things stayed for four long months until a chance encounter outside an apartment building. “I had just recently moved into a sublet in Los Angeles as I am staying here for a month to host some art workshops in SoCal,” Trotti said.
“In getting to know my temporary neighborhood, I had been going on walks and noticing all the missing pet signs.”
There was one flyer in particular that caught her attention, though. “It was for a one-eyed cat named Bo, or so I would come to find out ‘Bowie.’ He looked awfully similar to this cat I had noticed sitting outside the apartment I was staying in.”
At first, Trotti was unsure as the flyer was several months old. “I figured this cat must have been found already since I had just seen him,” she said. “But, just to be safe, I texted the number and let them know I had seen Bo outside my unit and sent them a picture.”
Trotti got a very quick reply: it was him. From that point, the focus was on reuniting Bo with them. “The family had a plan in place for if Bo was ever found,” Trotti said. “They would fly back immediately and bring him back home to Boston.”
However, by the time they heard from Trotti, they had started to fear the worst, thinking may Bo had been “gotten by a coyote.”
The first challenge would be to lure Bo in and ensure he didn’t disappear again. That was no easy feat. “He was extra skittish given being outside for the past 4 months and having gotten in a few neighborhood cat fights,” Trotti said.
Thankfully, Bo’s family enlisted the help of staff at the cat rescue service Nela Cats.
“So, along with a couple lovely girls at Nela Cats, a can of cat food and Churu treats, which are his favorite, we were able to get Bo in a carrier,” Trotti said.
Two days later, Bo’s dad flew in from Boston to take their beloved cat home.
Bo’s family were so grateful to Trotti for the role she played in bringing Bo home. So much so they gave her a $500 reward for her efforts. Trotti was happy to take the money and put it toward a cause she knows is close to Bo’s heart.
“I was honored to be a part of it all,” Trotti said. “I had the reward donated to the rescue in which they got Bowie from, Luxe Paws LA.”
Trotti shared Bo’s story to TikTok in the form of a video posted under the handle @jellyseashells. It has been watched over 2.4 million times.
In 2024, it is estimated that more than 1.7 million pets were reported lost in the U.S., according to data compiled by Pet911.org, an initiative set up to reunite lost animals with their families.
While a significant number of these pets do end up finding their way home, the study found it was more likely for dogs (63 percent) than cats (52 percent) to be successfully recovered.
Though Trotti earned praise for her efforts online, she was keen to highlight the incredible assistance that Nela Cats provided in bringing Bo home. Without it, the cat could still very easily have remained lost. Trotti said that she would encourage anyone inspired by her story to show support to Luxe Paws and Nela Cats in whatever way they can.
The post Cat Goes Missing With Family Fearing Worst, 4 Months Later They Get a Text appeared first on Newsweek.
