UNITED KINGDOM – Warwick, a male tabby cat, made an epic journey from Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, to Greenock, Inverclyde – but no one knows how.
Owner Laura Wharton was absolutely shocked and delighted to be reunited with her feline friend at a vet surgery in the Scots town after a woman saw him wandering around and handed him in.Ms Wharton, who is 44, who works as a local government receptionist, said: “I’ve been trying to work out how he got to Greenock – it’s more than 300 miles.
“I’m so pleased I had him microchipped. I wish he could talk so he could tell us how he got so far.”I was really pleased to see him. His happy paws were going and he was blinking at me which is a sign that he is happy.”And I got a cuddle and a little kiss. I was in tears.”She went on to explain that the four year old cat has a curious mind and is always on the go, so she thinks he may have jumped onto a lorry.She stated: “He moved in with one of my neighbors a couple of years ago but I kept seeing him.”I hadn’t seen him for a couple of months, then last week I got a call to say he was in Greenock.”He’s very inquisitive and I’m always fetching him out of people’s garages.
“It’s possible he’s climbed into a van or a lorry but it’s such a long way.
“Maybe he looked out and thought ‘this is a nice place, I’ll see what’s going on in here’.”
And Ms Wharton was very eager to thank Abbey Vets for their help.
Owner Laura Wharton was shocked and delighted to be reunited with her feline friend
She stated: “I am so grateful to them, I can’t thank them enough for looking after Warwick.
“They were all so nice to me and my mum. We got the train up to collect Warwick and the staff gave us a cup of tea and a biscuit.”
The practice kept the curious cat for a total of four days until Laura picked him up.
Neil McIntosh, veterinary surgeon partner at Abbey Vets, stated that Warwick’s story shows the importance of microchipping.
He went on to say: “We were delighted to find he had a chip, but disappointed when it was registered to Cambridgeshire.
Ms Wharton said she was “so pleased I had him microchipped”
“We thought that invariably the owner had moved and not kept their details up to date, but through the work telephone number we got hold of the lady who was quite surprised.
“He was a well looking, nice cat. It’s very unusual. I don’t know how he got here – maybe someone got a delivery from the Cambridge area.
“It highlights the benefits of microchipping – this has become compulsory for dogs from April 6 and is also a legal requirement to keep contact details up to date.
“I don’t know why it hasn’t been made compulsory for cats as it would save people a lot of heartache.
“There is no way Warwick would have been reunited with his owned if he hadn’t been chipped.”
Ms Wharton was keen to thank Abbey Vets for their help
