CLOSER NEWS REPORT
A new law has been passed meaning all pet cats in England must be microchipped. The ruling has been welcomed by animal welfare charities as it’s the most effective way of identifying lost felines. But these beloved animals are still facing crisis…
When Paula Smith spotted a picture of a black cat while browsing online, she couldn’t believe her eyes.
A Cats Protection employee had posted on a local Facebook page, and it had come up on Paula’s feed. And the puss looked just looked like the cat her mum had owned – but who had been missing for 12 years.
Paula, 58, from Essex, says, “I felt really emotional as I looked at the picture. It looked just like my mum’s cat, Quincey, who went missing when he was one. For months we searched for him, but got nowhere. He had epilepsy so we thought he might have had a fatal fit or been hit by a car.”
DISBELIEF
Two years later, Paula’s mum, Margaret, died, aged 68, from health complications after a heart attack.
Paula says, “We missed Mum terribly – and I often thought about Quincey too. He’d been such a sweet little thing, and I liked to think he’d been taken in by a loving family.”
Then in August 2019 – 12 years after Quincey had gone missing – as she read the Facebook post underneath the picture, she couldn’t believe what she was reading.
Paula says, “My local branch of Cats Protection was trying to trace relations of Margaret Smith – my mother! They’d found Quincey, scanned his microchip and found Mum’s details. But then they’d discovered she’d died. They were hoping she had family nearby, which is why they’d popped the photo in a local Facebook group.”
In complete disbelief, Paula called them straightaway, and they told her that Quincey had been reported as a stray earlier that week. Paula says, “It was wonderful news! I was thrilled to see him again – and it felt like a sign from Mum.”
Paula was able to take him home. She says, “He’s 16 now and living out his older years in comfort with lots of cuddles, treats and attention. I wish we knew what he’d got up to for those 12 years that he was missing! But it does go to show the importance of a microchip. I’m sure Mum is somewhere beaming from ear to ear that Quincey’s finally found his way home.”
UNIQUE
New rules were introduced last week which means there’ll be more happy endings like Paula and Quincey’s story. It was announced that all pet cats in England must be microchipped under a law which could see their owners face a £500 fine if they don’t get it done. Millions of cats are set to be tagged with the small electronic device by June 2024 after the compulsory cat microchipping legislation was introduced in parliament. Microchipping involves inserting a chip, generally around the size of a grain of rice, under the
