Jesse is back with his family again, 8 years after he got spooked at the vet, broke through his carrier and ran away. His microchip reunited him with his family when he was brought in as a stray on February 28.
Jessie was 18 months old when he panicked and went missing in May of 2006 during a visit to Charter Veterinary Surgeons, in Congleton, UK. Petmom Leslie Corbett searched for him to no avail, and eventually hoped he was at least being well cared for by someone if he couldn’t be found.
Ms. Corbett said: “At the time we lost him people came out with all these stories of cats finding their way home after months of being lost but we thought that was absolute nonsense and would never happen to us.”
In an amazing turn of events, Ms. Corbett got a call from Charter Veterinary Surgeons on February 28. When staff told her they had her cat, she thought they meant George, Jessie’s twin brother, who still lives with the family.
“I was lost for words when they said ‘No, his name is Jesse’,” Ms. Corbett said.
“[Daughter] Grace was only six when he went missing and she was devastated as he was a present for her. She has never forgotten about him.
“But both of my daughters absolutely burst into tears as soon as I walked back through the door with him – they were so happy to see him.”
Ms. Corbett says Jessie is doing well back at home, and seemed to recognize everyone after a while. “He’s a very talkative cat and sometimes I just wish I could interpret what he’s saying. He must have some great stories from the past eight years.
“He is now being spoiled rotten – we are absolutely over the moon.”
Jessie was brought to the vet by a local resident who said she had seen him hanging around and called to see if there was a report of a missing cat fitting his description.
Charter Receptionist Gemma Trante said “We have never heard of a cat go missing for that long before.” she said the practice was very happy to have helped to bring Jesse home, adding “We have no idea where he has been all these years but he must have had quite an adventure.”
Read the full story in The Express.
