Posted Nov. 8, 2008, 3 a.m. EDT
When a friendly black cat showed up in a neighborhood near Mankato, Minn., a month ago, neighbors Greg and Kristen Taylor and Don and Becky Waskosky began feeding the feline vagabond. Though a bit thin, the collarless cat seemed to be in good health, the Mankato Free Press reports.
“I could tell it belonged to somebody because it was a very social cat,” said Becky Waskosky. “And we were hoping it wasn’t a cat that someone had just dropped off.”
The neighbors spent several weeks searching for the cat’s owner, then decided to find him a new home. The cat was taken to a local vet clinic for his vaccinations, and to make sure he had been neutered (he had). A technician at the clinic did a routine scan with a microchip reader — and got a hit.
The pet-owner registry information provided on the chip revealed that Ivan, the roaming cat, belonged to Caroll Kelzenberg in Farmington, Minn., 60 miles away. When Kelzenberg was called, she told the clinic that Ivan had wandered off in July, and the family had feared the worst.
Ivan was promptly returned to his home.