The RSPCA reunited an elderly cat with her owner who ‘never gave up hope of seeing the feline again’ after she disappeared 14 years ago.
The 20-year-old cat, called Charlotte, was living a semi-feral existence in Lambeth, six miles and across the Thames from her old home in Maida Vale. In her later years she had been fed by a local resident, who when the cat’s health took a turn for the worse contacted the animal charity.
RSPCA Animal Rescue Officer (ARO) Jade Guthrie collected the cat earlier this month and was able to track down her original owner, Vivien Tarlton, after contacting the London-based animal charity which implanted the cat’s microchip many years ago.
Soon Charlotte was the centre of attention at Vivien’s home where she was able to spend time with her owner and her son Harley (pictured), one of a litter of six she gave birth to a month before she vanished in 2010.
Sadly, the feline’s health had deteriorated to such an extent that the happy reunion was but a fleeting one. Vivien was advised by her regular vet that the prognosis for Charlotte was poor and that the kindest course of action was to put her to sleep.
Happily, cat-loving Vivien was able to shower her love on the missing moggy for the last two weeks of her life and says she is extremely grateful to the RSPCA and the caller for making that possible.
“I’ve gone from the highest of highs to the lowest of lows, but the 16 days Charlotte was with me was lovely,” said Vivien. “She was home and safe, although I suspected her time with me might be short. When she lived with me she was quite feral, but it is still amazing that she managed to get to the other side of London and had someone feeding her there – she must have jumped on a bus as it is quite a distance.
“I never gave up hope of seeing her again as she was an amazing little cat. She’d come into the house and always be near to me, although she didn’t really like being touched. I kept looking when she went missing. I had posters printed and placed them on doors and trees all around West London, but she was never seen, I even asked a psychic for help locating her.
“I was thinking recently that she’d be 20 or 21 now and wondered what had happened to her. She was so wary of people that it was a shock that she went out of my back garden. I kept two of her kittens; Holly died in 2019, but Harley is still with me.
“I needed to know what happened to her and I’m so grateful to the lady who called the RSPCA. But I’m devastated as Charlotte (pictured as a young cat on an old place mat) was on this planet for 20 years, yet she was with me only for five years.”
Animal Rescue Officer Guthrie said that when Charlotte was rescued she was in poor health, barely able to walk and she was suffering with a large clump of matted fur on her back. She was found sitting on a driveway at Greenham Close in Lambeth.
“It looks like the cat was living feral for a long time and was “looked after” for many years by our caller who thought she was a stray. It was only recently that her health took a dip and when we got the call it was a surprise to find that she was microchipped,” said the inspector.
“After an emotional phone call I returned Charlotte to her old owner who was delighted as she’d never given up hope that she would see her cat again.”
The RSPCA says there are always difficulties determining whether a cat is a genuine stray, as cats naturally roam. There are no set criteria to identify a stray, but normally a number of different things can cause someone to question a cat’s ownership such as health, weight, general appearance, as well as if it looks like the cat doesn’t have a home to go to and constantly hangs around crying for food.
The sad fact is there are too many cats for potential adopters, but the RSPCA promotes responsible pet ownership, cat neutering, microchipping and cat neutering campaigns for stray and feral cats.
This month the charity launched its Adoptober campaign as it revealed it is facing a rehoming crisis across England and Wales with new figures showing that last year, 42% more animals arrived at the RSPCA than were adopted. Rehoming centres across England and Wales are at near or full capacity, with pets either waiting to be adopted, or being assessed for adoption – leaving countless dogs, cats and other animals still in emergency boarding waiting for a place at a rehoming centre.
The Adoptober rehoming campaign is urging animal lovers to adopt a pet from a rescue centre or RSPCA branch rather than buying from a breeder to help ease the spiralling crisis.
Charlotte was reunited with her owner because she was microchipped. And from June this year it became a legal requirement for owners to microchip their cats from 20 weeks of age. Owners also need to keep their contact details updated on a microchipping database and those found not to have microchipped their cat have 21 days to get one implanted or face fines up to £500.
