Cat Lost at Airport Reunited with Family after 19 Months

Donald Wood
by Donald Wood
Last updated: 2:00 PM ET, Thu July 30, 2015

Photo via Twitter

Losing a pet can be a traumatic experience, but one family in Michigan was lucky enough to reunite with their cat that was lost during a flight 19 months ago.

In a report from Roger Mari of KITV.com, Hillary Sutherland and her family were moving from Hawaii to Michigan when their cat, Bogie, got loose in the cargo hold at Honolulu International Airport and was lost.

The family was devastated by their loss, but after 19 months, they had come to grips with the situation. Recently, cat colony manager Bill Antilla-who takes care of feral cats around the airport-noticed a neutered Siamese cat that was affectionate and figured it was someone's pet.

After months of feeding the animal, Antilla was finally able to catch the cat last week and took it to a local veterinarian. Officials at the Cat Friends animal hospital in Kalihi, Hawaii, treated the cat and found a microchip that was placed under its skin.

Once the animal hospital scanned the chip, they discovered it was registered to the Sutherland family in Michigan. Once the family was told about their lost pet, arrangements were made to fly the feline back to its owners as soon as possible.

Bogie the cat was placed on a flight to Chicago, where he was transferred to another plane headed toward Detroit, Michigan. Upon arrival in Detroit, the long-lost cat was reunited with his family 19 months after being lost.

For the pet owners out there, this is a great lesson to reiterate the importance of tagging your animals with microchip. Antilla has found three cats with chips near the airport in his time working there.


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