When Ashes was just 1-year-old, tragedy struck. The gray tabby cat slipped out of his home in rural Chesterville, Maine, and his family feared for the worst.
The area is full of predators, like raccoons and foxes, and after weeks of searching, Ashes’ family believed he’d been eaten or succumbed to the elements in the dense wilderness.
However, after 7 long years, Ashes’ mom, Denise Cilley, received a call she thought would never come: Her missing cat had been found!
Naturally, Cilley was in disbelief and had to confirm a few times that it was really her cat the rescue
had found.
Speaking to WGME-TV, Cilley said, “I’m like, ‘Well how old is this cat?’ ‘Pretty old,’ I’m like, ‘I’ve been missing a cat for six and a half years. Then my daughter heard me talking on the phone and was like, ‘Is it Ashes, is she alive?’ and yes, she is.”
If it weren’t strange enough that her cat was recovered after so many years, it’s even stranger where he was found. Ashes had been picked up 1,400 miles from home down in Longwood, Florida!
No one is sure how Ashes made his way to Florida or what he’d been up to over the past seven years, but his family didn’t really care. They just wanted to have him back home!
While Ashes was in generally good health, he did have some minor health issues to address, as well as transportation back to Maine, so his family started a GoFundMe to cover the costs.
On the fundraising platform, they were pleased to announce that they’d surpassed their fundraising goals and Ashes had made it home!
They used the situation as the perfect example of why everyone should microchip their pets. Microchips are not very expensive and they can be invaluable if a pet ends up lost or stolen.