AN ANIMAL shelter has launched a global plea to find an English couple after their three-legged cat – which was initially presumed dead – was found alive and well in a French petrol station.
The moggy was discovered by truck driver Hamid, who allegedly spotted the cat at Aire des Haras au Sap André 61 petrol station on the A28 motorway in Normandy, France.
After a series of checks, it was soon discovered that the cat was neither microchipped nor registered in France, leading many to believe that the cat belongs to an English couple who had appealed for its return earlier this year.
A plea has now been sent out as the cat allegedly only has three months left before it will no longer be allowed to legally travel to the UK without an isolation period of six months.
The British duo believed to be the moggy’s owners allegedly travelled through the Normandy area in summer when their cat went AWOL.
Despite returning to look for her and even leaving posters in the petrol station, they gave up hope when in August they were informed that a tortoiseshell cat had been found run over and killed in the area.
However, the cat that was found at the time had four legs, whilst the couple’s puss had three following an amputation.
The pleas have now reached Scots animal welfare group Missing Pets, Dundee and Angus who took to social media yesterday, to share the appeal.
They wrote: “Appeal to find the owners of a cat recently found in a service station in Normandy, France but whose owners tragically cannot be traced.
“Some British people travelling in a camper van lost their three-legged tortoiseshell cat (one leg had been amputated) in July this year (2023) at a service station called Aire des Haras au Sap André 61 on the A28 Autoroute (motorway) in Normandy, France.
“They returned to the service area several times to look for her and left posters in the petrol station and food area.
“In August, on one of their visits, they were told that a tortoiseshell cat had been found run over and killed in the area and it was thought to be their cat.
“After this they stopped going back there and the posters were all thrown away. However, we now know that the cat who was run over had four legs, so [it] wasn’t their cat.
“Fast forward to early November (a few days ago) and a truck driver (who it turns out was there when the British people lost the cat originally so knew all about her) pulls into the service station and finds her.
“He’s sure it’s her, since she has three legs, just like the missing cat.
“He picks her up and contacts local rescue groups who take her to the vet only to find that she doesn’t have a chip (and an X-ray is done to ensure the chip hasn’t migrated and shows definitively that there is no chip).
“So, there is no way of contacting the owners other than to appeal on social media which has been done but the owners haven’t been located.
“We do not know if the owners live in France or the UK. The fact that she doesn’t have a chip leads us to believe that they may live in France, but we also know that on rare occasions microchips fall out.”
The post received dozens of likes and comments and hundreds of shares as many determined pet owners from across the globe attempted to reunite the cat with its family.
Janice Kirk Carberry wrote: “Please share far and wide. Your share could be the one to reunite this fur baby with her family.”
Nicky Beaton said: “Can everyone in rescue please share to find her owners, who presume she is dead after being misinformed.”
