Indoor cat reunited with owner after 18 months in the wild

(UPI) An indoor cat who escaped from his Ohio home was reunited with his owner after surviving 18 months in the wild.

Richard Campbell, a retired Miami University professor, said his cat, Calvin, escaped from his Oxford home while family members were visiting in April 2021.

Campbell said Calvin had been an indoor cat ever since the feline and his brother were rescued from a tree as kittens in 2017.

There was no trace of Calvin until this fall, when Susan Prochaska, a fellow retired professor, spotted a cat wandering loose on the edge of the Miami University Natural Areas.

"Over approximately two weeks, I would go twice a day and call the cat and provide food and water," Prochaska told the Oxford Journal-News. Eventually, the cat started to come closer but would disappear each time after he ate.

Prochaska was finally able to capture the feline Oct. 29, and a few days later she took him to a veterinarian who scanned the cat for a microchip.

"He was able to be reunited with his family because he had a microchip with his family's contact information. Without it, I wouldn't have known Calvin's story," Prochaska said.

Campbell said Calvin was treated for stomach parasites and tick bites, but is now settling in back at home.

"It is rare for an indoor cat to survive for 18 months in the wild," he said.

The Salem Animal Rescue League in New Hampshire said a woman was recently reunited with her own missing cat after an even longer period of time: four years. The group said a woman preparing to move out of town contacted the group because she was concerned about a stray cat she had been feeding on her porch.

The SARL team was able to capture the cat and use her microchip to identify the feline as Gigi, an 11-year-old tabby belonging to Casey Munroe. Monroe said Gigi had been an indoor/outdoor cat before failing to come home about four years ago.