“Miracle cat”, long lost pet reunites with owner five years later

NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCBD) — A Mount Pleasant woman who searched for her lost cat in 2019 has now been reunited with the animal after it was found 15 miles from home.

On Feb. 25, 2024, the Charleston Animal Society (CAS) says a 12 lb. cat was brought into their shelter after being found on Johns Island. Team members at CAS soon discovered that the cat, Feya, had been reported missing five years earlier in Mount Pleasant.

Feya did have a microchip, but the owner’s phone number was no longer in service. There was an emergency backup number that turned out to be the owner’s sister, said CAS.

When the animal society called the sister, they said she was stunned that Feye had been found. When Alexandra Tanner, Feya’s former owner, found out, she said, “I had a bit of a brain freeze.” After Feya went missing originally in 2019, Tanner and her friends spent weeks putting up missing posters, posting online, and going door to door searching for her.

When Tanner and Feya were finally reunited, CAS said Feya recognized Tanner and purred in greeting to her as her former owner had tears in her eyes. “She’s a miracle cat,” said Tanner.

CAS said they hope this story is a lesson to microchip pets and keep the chips updated with new phone numbers and new addresses.