It was the end of August when a friendly but emaciated cat showed up at Marilyn’s house in Hawaiian Paradise Park (HPP), hanging out around her carport.
“The patched tabby calico was as skinny as a rail and all wet,” said Marilyn, who’s outdoor male cat had just passed away. “I still had his food in a container and the stray cat gobbled up the food I gave her.”
After Marilyn checked the Facebook online missing pet sites to see if anyone had reported the little one missing and came up empty, she took the cat to a spay and neuter clinic, and made an interesting discovery. “I found out that the cat had already been spayed and had a microchip. The clinic provided me with the chip info and clipped her ear… and I decided to provide her a good, safe home.”
Marilyn had also reached out to Aloha Animal Oasis regarding getting the mysterious kitty, who she began calling “Callie,” spayed. When we sent her a message to confirm her appointment at the clinic, Marilyn shared her story. We assured her that getting the cat’s ear tipped was definitely the right thing to do. It’s the telltale sign that someone cared enough about the cat to get them fixed. Then, we went to work researching the cat’s chip number, and reached out to the owner once we uncovered their name and number.
Marilyn already has four spoiled indoor kitties, three of which showed up in her yard. “I rescued them. And even though I wasn’t looking for another one, I was happy to provide a safe home for Callie too.”
While we waited for a response from the owner associated with the chip, Marilyn nursed Callie back to health, noting that the curious feline liked to check out her friend’s truck when they stayed overnight. At the clinic, Marilyn had also learned that Callie was vaccinated with the FVRCP, but had not been tested for FIV (feline AIDS) and FeLV. “If the owner didn’t want her back or didn’t respond, I was ready to take Callie to my vet in HPP to get her routine checkup and vaccinations, including getting tested for FIV and FeLV.”
The owner, Kathy, did in fact call us back and was overjoyed to hear that her missing cat had been found! “Thank you so much! I have been looking for her and I’m so thankful and sooo relieved to hear from you,” Kathy said. “We live in Hawaiian Beaches and she went missing one day after a friend came over in a pick-up truck. She was curious, looking around and inside his truck. We couldn’t explain where she could have gone and I speculated maybe she was in the person’s truck as he left our home!”
As it turns out, Callie’s given name is “Leala” and she is five-years old. Leala moved from California to Hawaii with Kathy after being adopted. And we’re all grateful that this truck-loving cat didn’t hop a ride anywhere else on the island and was able to be reunited with her human Mom.
As for Marilyn, she was happy to make sure Leala was fed enough food and provided safe shelter, and will miss her new feline friend, but is grateful for all the help reconnecting Leala to her rightful human. “Thank you Aloha Animal Oasis for helping find the rightful owner. Kathy was overjoyed once we connected. She came over after work to pick Leala up and couldn’t thank me enough for taking care of her. Now Leala is safely back home, thanks to your successful investigation!”
“I want to give Aloha Animal Oasis a BIG MAHALO for tracking me down and reuniting us with our cat,” Kathy added. “It’s amazing! We surely thought Leala was gone. Marilynn is the sweetest and we are very happy to see our cat again. I cannot thank you enough!”
It’s not often that we set out to find the owner of a cat and are able to coordinate a happy reunion. Unfortunately, many owners have already moved off island by the time we track them down, which makes this reunion one to celebrate! It just serves to prove that microchip’s work, ear tipping is always a good idea… and you never know who’s life you can change by taking the time to help a cat in need. Please contact us to learn more about how you can help.
