Persistent Penelope!

REUNITED: In a few days

Penelope, the neighborhood Domestic Short-Haired Cat, disappeared one night and remained missing for several days! Thankfully, she was found — and because of her microchip enrolled with AKC Reunite, she was welcomed home by her neighborhood days after her disappearance!

“One night we were expecting the coldest overnight lows in 11 1/2 months and the neighborhood cat, Penelope, didn’t come inside,” said Jennifer, the Primary Contact on Penelope’s enrollment. “She sleeps inside, no matter the weather. She’s particularly averse to the cold so I was thinking she’d be in even before the sun went down, but neither I nor the neighbors had seen her since midafternoon!”

Jennifer searched high and low both inside and outside for the beloved feline, but Penelope was nowhere to be found. The only hope that remained was that she had just fallen asleep in someone else’s home riding out the cold somewhere safe albeit away from her usual night-time resting place.

“Penelope has lived outside in our neighborhood for years and lots of people know and love her and have a hand in her care. She belongs to no one and everyone at the same time and truly is an important member in our community,” said Jennifer. “I myself was definitely losing hope that she was safe but days later, I got a call from an animal control officer who said she had Penelope and she was safe!”

As it turns out, Penelope slipped into someone’s car who was visiting a neighbor, and after journeying back home, realized the feline was in their car! From there they tried to get the cat to leave, but Penelope was determined to stay. Unsure of what to do, the good Samaritan took the stray cat to a nearby fire department where animal control was then called! After discovering the enrolled microchip, AKC Reunite was notified and Jennifer was contacted!

“Thank goodness for microchips,” said Jennifer. “And a big shout out to the animal control officer who dropped her off on her way back to the shelter, saving us hours on our reunion, which was, to say the least, a very happy reunion!”

“Penelope is super important to all of us and she’s been here for enough years that it’s hard to imagine the landscape without her in it,” said Jennifer. “Although she showed up spayed, she’d never been chipped so late last year, I took her to the vet for a wellness check and thankfully they talked me into microchipping her at that appointment. With how many miles away she was found, I honestly feel I would still be looking for her every night and going to bed with tears in my eyes.”

Since she was located, Penelope now wears a tracker device tied to multiple neighbors, along with her microchip enrolled to Jennifer. This will hopefully bring her peace of mind that she is always close to “home”!