To the surprise of his dumbfounded owner, Charlie, a ginger tabby cat, arrived home last week after a three-year walkabout.
Suzanne who asked that her surname not be used, adopted Charlie from a Thomastown pet shop just over three years ago, before the birth of her daughter.
She suspects the shift in attention from the moggie to her newborn may have prompted Charlie to decamp, and she never expected to see him again.
But last week’s visit from Hume council officers to Suzanne’s Craigieburn home changed all that. The rangers told her two cats had been found hanging around Graham Street in Broadmeadows, not far from where Suzanne used to live.
One of the cats was taken to the Lost Dogs Home where its microchip revealed it was, indeed, Charlie.
“When I heard my cat had been found, I nearly passed out as Charlie was a little kitten when he disappeared,” she said, adding that he had obviously been well looked after. “He seems to have been well fed and is very affectionate.”
Hume mayor Adem Atmaca said Charlie’s was a remarkable story made possible because of a simple microchip.
“Every dog and every cat must be registered and microchipped by the time they reach three months of age so they can be returned if they leave,” the mayor said.
For more information on how to register, microchip and care for your pet, visit www.hume.vic.gov.au/petregistrations
