Pet Lovers

[KingstonsMom]

I just love a happy ending!

A Michigan family experienced a Christmas miracle when their beloved cat who had been missing for two months was discovered more than 1,100 away from home in Florida. 

Judy Sanborn said her two-and-a-half-year-old tabby named Bandit wandered away from the family's property in Dearborn, Michigan, last fall and never returned. 

About two months later in December, Sanborn received a call from a pet hospital in Tampa, Florida, that had traced the pet's microchip back to her after a local woman brought Bandit in, thinking he was a stray.  

How the clever cat managed to make the 1,100-mile journey across at least six states remains a mystery.

Sanborn has come up with a couple theories of how Bandit made his way to warmer climes, according to the Detroit Free Press. She says perhaps he hitched a ride in a moving van or someone in Michigan took him in and brought him to Florida thinking he didn't already have a home. 

Regardless, she is thrilled to have the pet back safe and sound.  

An emergency veterinary technician manager at BluePearl pet hospital, where Bandit was identified, said he couldn't believe the cat's journey. 

'Honestly, in my 30 years of my career, I have not' seen an animal come from so far away,' Jose Calderon said. 

'A block over, a street over, or maybe even [from] Orlando, which is an hour away from us. This is the farthest away I've seen.'

[NickNack]

I'm glad they found him!  I hope they'll make him an indoor cat.

[Kachina624]

The way people move nowdays, I don't find it at all unusual that pets are found thousands of miles from home.  Someone probably took him in, moved and took him along to the new home, then he went wandering.

[beastielove]

---

@NickNack wrote:

I'm glad they found him!  I hope they'll make him an indoor cat.

---

ITA!

I'm elated that this precious kitty

was found safe and sound and also

hope that the family learned a valuable

lesson and have since decided to keep

him inside 24/7.

I always keep mine inside and they

are all purr-fectly happy...and safe!

-------------------------------

All of my children have paws =^..^=

[denisemb]

So happy kitty is home!

[KingstonsMom]

@beastielove

I hear ya'!

DD has 8 indoor only cats!

[Harvard99]

@KingstonsMom  Thank you for giving us some good news (for a change).  I wish Bandit could speak and tell us his all about his travels. It would be quite a story.

[OKPrincess]

Mine are indoor-only cats so I don’t worry about them wandering away.

Great ending for kitty and the family.

[ScenicMaine]

@KingstonsMom

Thanks for posting a Happy Ending Story.

I wish cat owners who let their cats out would use a leash/harness so they're safe.  That's the only way my cats go out.  It's a lot less worry & safer.

[DSD2]

Thank you IG!

What a lovely story, complete with a happy ending.

Thank you so much for sharing.

I can think of little that would be as devastating as losing a fur child, never knowing what happened and wondering every single day.

There is kindness and hope.