Family reunited with cat lost for 8 months after recognizing his meow during phone call

By Charlotte Penketh-King via SWNS

A family has been reunited with their cat that went missing EIGHT MONTHS AGO - after they recognized the feline's distinct meow during a phone call to the vet.

Rachael Lawrence, 40, had been on the phone to Vets4Pets regarding another cat, Torvi, who had recently had a castration operation when she heard a meow in the background.

The mom-of-three instantly recognized the meow and asked the vet if it had come from Torvi but was told it belonged to a stray cat that had been brought in a week ago.

Rachael ended the call but couldn't stop thinking about the meow and wondered if it could have belonged to her cat Barnaby who had gone missing eight months ago.

The stay-at-home mom called back to ask if the stray cat was black with a distinctive white blotch of fur on his back foot, but couldn't believe it when the vet told her the description matched.

Rachael immediately rushed to the vet and collected the missing cat Barnaby, known by his family as Fatman prior to his disappearance, and now Fatman Slim since his return.

He's now back home with his loving family after eight long months apart and is enjoying lots of food so he can return to his healthy previous self.

Rachael, who lives in Essex, England, said: "I couldn’t believe what was happening. I just cried when I saw him, full on. I just couldn’t believe it.

"There was just something about the meow, so after three hours of it being in my head, I rang back up and asked if he was black and if they could check for a tiny bit of white on his back foot.

"It was just utter disbelief from them and me. When I went to pick up Torvi, I asked to see this stray cat and brought photos of Barnaby with me.

"They brought him into the room and I just straight away picked him up and knew it was him. I was sobbing, just absolutely howling - full-on snot bubble crying.

"We had given up hope. The kids knew I was going to the vets, but I video called and said ‘Look who I’ve got!' They recognized him straight away, they couldn’t be happier."

During the lockdowns in 2020, Rachael had paid for an independent company to come to her home and chip Barnaby should he ever go missing.

She paid for the service and registered the chip details online, but it wasn't until Barnaby went missing that she discovered the chip had not worked.

After eight months apart, Rachael asked the vet to chip Barnaby there and then when she collected him on January 11 to make sure she never lost her beloved pet again.

The lucky feline is now recovering at home and being showered with love from Rachael and her three kids, Be, 12, Joshua, 11, and Amalie, seven.

She said: "I thought he was chipped - I've got the tag and everything that they give you and I paid to register him on the online database, but I think I was scammed as it wasn't a vet who did it - it was advertised as a pet grooming company that does chipping too.

"I had relied on him being ok somewhere because otherwise I'd have had a phone call that he'd been run over and they'd checked his chip.

"I got him chipped by the vet as soon as we were reunited and we're just so happy that we've got him home. He's now eating really, really well so we just need to get him back to full health.

"He is so skinny and is looking a little worse for wear. He is missing some fur, and now he is back, he is still getting used to it. He is on high alert all the time.

"One of his ears is slightly bent and he has some scabs and scars, war wounds from fighting to keep himself alive.

"He's absolutely lovely. It was just a really strange set of circumstances that all led up to one noise that you hear on the other end of the phone. I can't believe it, but I'm so happy and the kids are thrilled to have him home.

"I would like to find out who it was who brought him in. I want to thank them. It was just so many little things which just fitted together to find him."