A FORMER Mount Gambier resident says it is a Christmas miracle she has been reunited with her much-loved cat after the feline disappeared seven years ago.
Bianca Ward was reacquainted with her childhood cat Wyatt on Monday after a surprise phone call from the Blue Lake Veterinary Clinic.
It was the last news her family in Mount Gambier expected to receive just days before Christmas.
Wyatt – who was taken to a Portland-based animal welfare shelter – was returned to the family after a veterinarian scanned the animal’s registration microchip.
“It is pretty amazing Wyatt has come back – it is crazy. When he saw us, he came straight up,” Bianca said.
She revealed she cried with joy when she heard the news.
While the family can trace where Wyatt had been over the past six months, the rest of his journey is a mystery.
A woman who lives in the Suttontown Road area had been feeding Wyatt for six months, but took him to be re-homed at the Portland shelter.
But the shelter would not accept Wyatt due to the fact he was micro-chipped and had an address in South Australia.
“Wyatt was my first cat and I was devastated when he went missing during a thunderstorm. I loved him a lot and it hurt when he went missing,” Bianca told The Border Watch.
While relocating to the Adelaide Hills, she said she never stopped wondering where Wyatt was or if he would ever return.
“He would always come back, he would never disappear – he was not a wanderer. Someone must know where he has been,” Bianca said.
“We looked for days and days and I put flyers everywhere and people put it on Facebook. It was really upsetting.”
While they thought they may of found him at “one point”, the owner of the property would “not let them see the
cat”.
Despite the years rolling on, Bianca said in her heart she never thought Wyatt was dead and believed someone was caring for him.
“I never stopped talking about Wyatt, he was such a playful cat. I always thought we would drive past and we would see him walking down the street.
“Every time I come to Mount Gambier, I always think of Wyatt.”
Bianca’s mother Joanne Ward said this story demonstrated the importance of micro-chipping animals.
Explaining they were evacuated from their home due to the Adelaide Hills blaze, she said these fires demonstrated the importance of micro-chipping given the possibility of animals being displaced.
The fire front was just 3km from their house at one stage, but fortunately the wind changed.
“It is so important to micro-chip animals. You do not know what going to happen in the future, such as thunderstorms and fires,” Ms Ward said.
She said the return of Wyatt also gave some hope for others who also have lost animals.
“This is a really good Christmas story, there is hope out there,” Ms Ward said.
Thankfully, she said Wyatt was in good health that indicated he had been looked after.
Bianca is the granddaughter of well known Mount Gambier residents Barry and Joanne Ward.
