Cat Who Went Missing in Texas Found 2 Years Later In Massachusetts

One cat just made his own cross-country tour.

Shoto, a stray cat from Texas, was separated from his family when he disappeared during a severe cold snap in January 2022. He was found 2,000 miles away in Springfield, Mass., the Dakin Humane Society announced on Facebook on Monday, Sept. 2.

After 33 months on the road, Shoto, a skinny, helpless cat, was discovered by a good Samaritan in the Massachusetts city. Springfield is about 90 miles southwest of Boston.

Once the person brought Shoto to the Dakin Humane Society, they used a microchip scanner and successfully heard a chirping sound when above the animal’s implant.

The shelter then called the owner, Karla. When she saw the Dakin, Mass. area code, she almost declined the call, thinking it might have been a telemarketer or other unwanted call. 

“Thankfully, we made contact,” the shelter said in the Facebook announcement. “Without missing a beat, Karla made plans to drive to Dakin to pick up Shoto, a 26-hour-each-way journey from Texas!”

“No one except for Shoto will ever know how he got to Massachusetts, what he experienced, or who he met along the way. That adventure will forever remain his secret,” the shelter wrote, adding that the facility was honored to reunite the family with their first cat “after such a long time apart.”

The Dakin Humane Society also noted this was all possible “thanks to the amazing power of a microchip!”

Several Facebook users celebrated the cat’s long journey and happy ending. “At least your cats ended up coming from TX to MA safely and soundly! Poor kitty, I would love to know his story, but it’s his secret 😉,” one person wrote. “I love happy endings!” 

“I’m so glad for Shoto! What a reunion, indeed. I’d have cried buckets,” added another.

The shelter noted that while microchips help families reunite with their pets, they do not use GPS technology and cannot be tracked in real-time.

“Keeping your microchip contact information up to date is critical in the event the unthinkable happens; your pet goes missing,” the shelter notes on its website.

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The American Animal Hospital Association’s microchip database helps owners locate their pet’s microchip number to locate the company it’s registered with.