Cat registered to an address in Australia is reunited with its owners after being found 9,000 miles away in Scotland
A cat registered to an address in Australia has been reunited with its owners after being found 9,000 miles away in Scotland.
Melvin the cat was picked up by the Scottish Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SSPCA) on May 23 when a member of the public raised concerns about him.
Thinking he was a hobo, he visited their house since Christmas and was fed twice a day. However, they had become concerned for him after noticing that he was not looking well and were no longer getting along with their cat.
Melvin was picked off the street by Scotland’s SPCA Chief Inspector, Laura McIntyre, who took him to be checked by a vet and then had him transferred to the charity’s Glasgow Animal Rescue and Rehoming Centre.
As usual, the zookeepers scanned Melvin to see if he had a microchip and were surprised to find that he was registered to an address in Australia.
Melvin was reunited with his delighted owner Jacqueline Dick after nine months and 9,000 miles apart
Laura explains: ‘One of the first things we do with animals when they come to us is to scan them for a microchip.
“As you can imagine, the team was a bit confused when Melvin’s details came back registered to an address in Australia.”
Fortunately, with a little digging and help from Cats Protection, the mystery behind Melvin’s epic journey was unraveled and Laura and the team were able to reunite him with his owners Jacqueline and Matt Dick after a whopping nine months.
It turned out that the couple had previously lived in Australia and adopted Australian-born Melvin as a kitten.
After 14 years down under they decided to move back to Scotland and plopped down around £4,200 to bring Melvin and their border collie Max to Scotland.
But in August 2022, just eight weeks after moving into their new place, Melvin went missing.
Discussing the reunion, Laura said, “We were thrilled to be able to reunite Melvin with Jacqueline and Matt after all this time.
Cheeky Mervin had been fed by a stranger twice a day since Christmas, but after five months he started to look bad and started playing with their cat – prompting them to report him as a stray.
Mervin’s brother Max was also happy that his buddy was home. The team later discovered that Melvin was attacked in Australia by a hungry dingo and survived only thanks to the dog, which scared him off – the two here recovering
“It’s so important to have your pets chipped so that owners, like in this case, can be tracked down quickly.”
Alice Palombo from Scotland Cats Protection added: ‘Melvin’s story shows why microchipping is so important and we are delighted that he has been reunited with his owners thanks to his chip.
“Domestic cat microchipping will become mandatory for domestic cats in England from next year and Cats Protection is calling on the Scottish Government to introduce this too, so that Scottish cats are not left behind.”
Melvin was reunited with his tearful owners who were thrilled to have him home, as was Max the dog.
The team later learned that Melvin was attacked in Australia by a hungry dingo and survived only thanks to the dog, which scared him off.