Ralph is an orange tabby with a white chin who is about to be reunited with his owner after nearly four years.
Image Credit: SUBMITTED/B.C. SPCA
February 02, 2022 - 3:49 PM
A woman who lost her cat in Kamloops nearly four years ago will soon be reunited with the feline in Ontario.
Crystal Maclean was a Kamloops resident in March 2018 when her friend and petsitter lost her beloved cat Ralph, according to a B.C. SPCA press release.
Nearby neighbourhoods were searched, lost cat posters were put up, and Maclean contacted local mail carriers and the SPCA, but to no avail. The woman began to fear that her cat was killed by a coyote.
Maclean eventually left Kamloops to move to Papau, New Guinea. She lived there for two years and then moved to her current home in Northern Ontario.
But Ralph the cat stuck around in Kamloops and had formed a habit of visiting the yard of a woman named Lynette Nyeste.
“When I first saw him, he was in bad shape and his hair was matted,” Nyeste said in the press release. “I thought he was feral. He wouldn’t let me get near him.”
Ralph warmed up to Nyeste after enjoying enough of her food and water and soon allowed her to brush his fur. The tabby cat became more comfortable and eventually began curling up on Nyeste’s front porch while purring.
“I looked online at lost and found pet sites to see if anyone was looking for him,” Nyeste said. “I took a photo of Ralph and posted it on sites and no one responded, so I just kept doing what I could for him thinking he must be an outside cat.”
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Last week, on Jan. 25, Nyeste took Ralph to the Kamloops SPCA because she was no long able to care for the cat.
“When he came into care, we posted Ralph’s photo on our shelter’s Facebook page in an effort to find his owner,” B.C. SPCA animal care supervisor Sarah Gerow said in the release. “In a wonderful stroke of luck, friends of the owner saw our post and contacted Crystal, who was in touch with us right away from Ontario.”
When Maclean learned Ralph was still alive she considered the news to be a miracle.
“I have experienced shock, disbelief, elation and sheer happiness that I will get to be reunited with my beloved Ralph,” Maclean said. “He is the best cat ever.”
Ralph will be leaving for Ontario tomorrow, Feb. 3, by boarding a plane from Kelowna to Toronto. Maclean will have to drive five hours to the meet pick up her cat at the airport.
The B.C. SPCA reminds pet owners that the B.C. Pet Registry is a valuable tool for finding lost animals.
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