Chas and Dave are back together - cats reunited thanks to microchip
Dave had been missing for 16 months
A pair of inseparable cats in Norfolk have finally been reunited after one of them had been missing for 16 months.
Helen Kybert's two moggies, Chas and Dave, have always been close, but when she moved to Watlington in October 2019, Dave got out of the house and didn't come back.
She tried asking neighbours to keep an eye out, put up posters and started a social media appeal on local Facebook groups, but there was no sign of him.
The 45-year-old said:
"I was devastated. The thought that Dave was gone for good terrified me. I had only moved into my home two weeks before he went missing and I felt that maybe I had been too trusting in letting him go out so soon. I regretted that decision every day he was gone.
"Family and friends knew how much I valued my cats. I had recently left a relationship and was starting life on my own, so they were very important to me. They were and always will be a great comfort to me.
"It took me many months to come to terms with that I'd probably never see Dave again. I'd see cats on social media reunited with their owners after being missing only a few weeks and because Dave had been gone for more than a year I thought I'd never be that lucky."
But thanks to Helen's foresight, her luck was about to change.
Not only had the cats been microchipped, but Helen had made sure to update the details on the database when she moved house.
Now she's urging other cat owners to make sure their pets are chipped and that the details are kept up to date - that is what allowed the team at Cats Protection Downham Market to return Dave to her.
Helen said:
"When it was clear that Dave was missing rather than just trapped in a neighbour's shed, I logged into Identibase and reported him lost. To get the premium account with the microchip I had to pay a fee. At first I was a bit reluctant because money was tight, but I'm so glad I did. If I hadn't updated my address, Dave and Chas wouldn't be together at home today. I urge anyone with a microchipped cat to ensure their details are up to date."
"If you want your family pet to return home, then I urge you to get your cat microchipped and keep your contact details up to date. It only takes a few minutes to do.
"If I hadn't updated Dave's microchip details, who knows where he would be now."
Dave had been missing for 16 months when Helen received a phone call that brought her to tears.
She said:
"Becky at Cats Protection left a voicemail but I didn't recognise the number so I Googled the number. My first thoughts were that the call was to tell me Dave was not alive anymore. I was so anxious when I rang back. When they said they had my boy and he was alive and well, I cried and cried.
"Becky brought him back to me later that day and to see him again was amazing. He was a bit timid at first but before long he was sat on my lap purring, happy to be home where he belonged. He looked surprisingly well, too - although a bit bigger around the middle.
"Someone must have been feeding him and I have to be grateful to them for that. Without that care and people reporting him as a stray, Dave wouldn't have survived to return home to us. I know I'm one of the lucky ones, but it shows that you shouldn't give up hope. If your cat is microchipped and your details are current, there is always a chance that it could come home."
Becky Piggott, Senior Cat Care Assistant at Cats Protection's Downham Market Adoption Centre, said:
"We were called about a stray cat that had been found and, after evading capture a couple of times, he came into our care. He was checked over and we found his chip, which was a good start. When we saw that he had been marked as missing and his details on the database had recently been updated, we were thrilled.
"Dave's owner was shocked when I called to say we'd found him safe and well. She was over the moon to get him back home. I love making these kind of phone calls, although all too often it isn't such a simple story. Too many people forget to update their details on the database."
Thankfully, Chas and Dave are back together, oblivious to all the drama around Dave's long absence.
Helen said:
"He's settled back to life with Chas and I so well. They play fight, snuggle up and wash each other just like when they were kittens. I honestly believe he remembers everything from before he strayed. Cats are amazing. I couldn't ask for a better outcome."