Dixie found after 9 years

September 2008

For six years Dixie the cat lived happily with Alan and Gilly Delaney in their Birmingham home. Then one day in 1999, she suddenly and unexpectedly disappeared. The Delaneys made an extensive search, and enquiries from door to door, but Dixie was nowhere to be found. Eventually Alan and Gilly were forced to reconcile themselves to the fact that Dixie was gone for good. Since Dixie was not in the habit of wandering off, the most obvious explanation for her disappearance was that she had been hit and killed by a car.

Nine years later, in September 2008 a ginger cat living on the street and in poor condition was reported to the local RSPCA. The resident who reported the cat said that it had been in the area for a couple of months. The RSPCA rounded up the cat and the Animal Collection Officer quickly discovered that the cat was microchipped. Because these microchips, inserted under the cat's skin are almost impossible to lose many people make sure that their cats have this identification, which is registered on a national database. The stray was thus quickly identified. It was Dixie. As Dixie had been living less than half a mile from her her former home, finding the owners was very easy. Within 30 minutes she was back in the home she had lost for 9 years. The RSPCA officer said: "In 29 years of working for the RSPCA I have never seen anyone so excited and happy as Mrs Delaney. It made my day to return Dixie." Indeed Mrs Delaney could not believe her luck, although deep down, dispite all the odds against, she had kept hoping that perhaps one day she wold see her cat again.

According to Gilly, Dixie promptly settled down as if she had never left. Her personality, behaviour and little mannerisms haven't changed at all. The only noticeable change is the continuous happy purring.

Dixie's story is a reminder of how important it is for cats to be microchipped - without her chip, Dixie would almost certainly never have made it back home.