Cat-astrophe averted!
A Florida family was reunited with their missing cat more than 900 miles away after the pet turned up at a North Carolina shelter, officials said.
The cat, named Xena, vanished over the Fourth of July weekend after slipping out of a harness while her owners visited Corolla on the Outer Banks.
By the time the family returned home to Boynton Beach, the cat was still missing and they feared she was gone for good.
On Aug. 27, an injured and underweight cat was found about a half-mile from where Xena had last been seen in the Tar Heel State, according to Currituck Animal Shelter.
Shelter director Rachael Stone said the cat had an abscess on her foot but was still “vocal” and eager for attention.
Staff scanned the cat for a microchip and confirmed it was Xena, linking her back to her Florida owners.
The shelter said the family was “so grateful” and immediately made plans to drive up and get her.
A Facebook post from the shelter showed Xena receiving vet care before her long-awaited reunion.
Photos shared online captured the moment the family and their missing pet were finally reunited.
“They were very excited,” Rachael Stone, director of animal services and control for the Currituck Animal Shelter, told McClatchy News when asked how the family reacted when told their cat had been located. “They were in awe. They had kind of lost hope that they were going to find her.”
She added that the family’s determination to drive hundreds of miles to retrieve Xena “made our day.”
“It just reinforces how important microchips are, keeping that information correct on the microchips,” Stone said.
The reunion came more than a month after Xena first disappeared during the family’s holiday trip.
Xena is now back home in Boynton Beach, recovering after her month-long ordeal.
Shelter staff said they were relieved to see the cat safe and back with her family after weeks of uncertainty.
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