Canadian woman reunited with missing cat after 12 years

(UPI) An Ontario, Canada, woman whose cat fled from her home in summer 2010 was reunited with the missing feline when her pet turned up at a shelter 12 years later.

Christine De Castro, of Kitchener, said she received a phone call from Vaughan Animal Services on New Year's Day saying one of her pets had been found, and she was initially confused after verifying that her cat and two dogs were at home.

De Castro said her confusion turned to shock when the found animal turned out to be Loli, a cat that had fled from her home when she lived in Richmond Hill, Ontario, in summer 2010.

Vaughan Animal Services told her Loli had been picked up as a stray and scanned for a microchip, which revealed De Castro's contact information.

"I was in shock and quickly made plans with my partner to pick her up," De Castro told CBC Toronto. I'm still in shock about a week and a half later.

De Castro said she brought the now-14-year-old cat home Jan. 3.

"When I saw her, her face looked a lot grumpier than what I remember which tends to happen with senior cats. Otherwise she looked exactly the same. She's still a very petite brown tabby that I had 11 1/2 years ago," she said.

De Castro said Loli is being kept separate from her other pets until she receives results from her veterinary check-up.

"I wish cats could talk so that she could tell me where she's been ... but I'm glad she's come to me now to be taken care of in her older golden years," she said.

A California cat was reunited with her owner last year after an even longer period -- 15 years.

The Los Angeles County Department of Animal Care and Control said Officer Luis Leal responded to a call about an injured stray cat on a Palmdale resident's front porch in February 2020, and Leal brought the feline to the Palmdale Animal Care Center.

The cat was scanned for a microchip and identified as Brandy, a feline who had been missing for 15 years. Brandy was reunited with her owner, a man named Charles.