The Arizona Republic reported today on the happy update to a story that made the news earlier this month.
Scottsdale, AZ travel photographer Ken Ross got a lot of attention for the search for his two missing cats when he offered 100,000 airline miles as a reward for their return. Houdini and Pookah escaped from a friend’s home in Phoenix on December 1, prompting the reward offer and media coverage.
Two factors made the timely recovery of Ross’ cats more crucial: Pookah has lymphoma and needs extra care, and Ross was in the process of moving to Los Angeles when the cats disappeared. Ross postponed his move in order to stay in the Phoenix area to look for the cats.
On December 16, Houdini turned up outside the friend’s house where he’d escaped. After shining a light on the cat, Ross realized it was Houdini.
“He had lost about a quarter of his body weight and had some fur missing under his chin, but otherwise was in good shape,” Ross said.
“He didn’t move more than 18 inches from me the first two days and has been purring about 50 percent of the time. I think that cured him from going outside for a long time,” he said.
Ross said after the story about the reward made the news he received more than 100 calls from people wanting to help him find his missing cats, none of whom asked about the reward.
Houdini will get microchipped and checked out at the vet’s on Friday.
Ross plans to stay in the area a while longer, looking for Pookah.
A video report on the story, made after the cats went missing and their owner offered the reward:
