"Sammie" the cat reunited with owner after missing for 5 years



RACINE (WITI) – Lindsay O’Neill was shocked when she got the call on Tuesday, November 5th that her cat, Sammie, had turned up at the Wisconsin Humane Society Racine Campus. Sammie had been lost five years ago.

For the past several months, a local resident had seen the eight-year-old tabby cat hanging out around her home. The finder began to worry when the weather started to turn cold, so she brought Sammie into the Wisconsin Humane Society (WHS) Racine Campus, where he was scanned for a microchip.

Unlike most strays, Sammie had a microchip, which was registered to O’Neill. Shelter officials called her, and the two were reunited Tuesday afternoon.

"I was like a little kid last night. I was so excited to have my cat back. We brought him home last night and within 45 minutes of him being home -- it's as if he never left," O'Neill told FOX6 News.

O'Neill says the cat went missing when the family was moving.

"I feel bad for him because I just don't know what he went through for all those years," O'Neill said.

Alison Kleibor, director of the WHS Racine Campus, wants the public to take notice of the importance of microchips.

“Microchips make reunions like this possible. They are inexpensive and very effective,” Kleibor said. “Every area shelter scans stray animals, and every animal is at risk for becoming lost, no matter how careful you are.”

The Wisconsin Humane Society offers microchip implantation for just $25 at their vaccine clinics. The chip is about the size of a grain of rice, and is implanted between the animal’s shoulder blades.