An owner believed she received a sign from her late husband after getting an unexpected call about her cat who had gone missing years earlier. About two to three years ago, Aurora and her husband lived in San Jose with their cat and newborn, but heartbreak struck when their cat named Fat Boy went missing. They searched endlessly to find their fur baby, but he never showed up and their hope quickly faded.
The years went by without their Fat Boy and then Aurora's husband, unfortunately, passed. But in February of this year, she received an unexpected phone call from the San Francisco SPCA, which she believed to be a sign from her husband. During a routine trap and neuter program with the San Francisco SPCA, a team of volunteers gathered stray and feral cats to them.
They also checked for microchips, which is when they discovered one of the had an owner registered on the microchip. That cat turned out to be Fat Boy. Senior Manager of Communications Naomi Weisenberg told that the cat "ended up in a cat colony" and when he was brought in, they discovered his microchip and Aurora's contact information.
He managed to be found an hour away from where he lived all these years later. The video posted to the was a throwback from the day they reunited in February of this year. Aurora walked into the room with Fat Boy and patiently waited until he made contact first.
But it didn't take long. Even after all those years, he "remembered his mom." Tears started flowing and Fat Boy wouldn't leave her side.
He missed her just as much as she missed him. Aurora told the that finally reuniting with her cat felt like her husband was bringing her cat back to her. The San Francisco SPCA posted this throwback video on National Check the Chip Day to highlight how a microchip can reconnect lost animals to their owners despite being lost for several years.
The beautiful reunion instantly melted hearts and by Thursday, the clip reached over 1.3 million views and 161,900 likes. "I'm so glad they were reunited," commented a viewer, while a second person echoed: "I'm so happy for them.
Made me both cry and smile." Someone pointed out: "At first he was mad that she didn't find him sooner! But then he was just happy to see her again." Others instantly saw the importance of microchipping their pet: "Oh happy tears!! I'm making an appointment to microchip my baby after seeing this!! Microchips can help prevent horrible headaches and heartbreaks from losing a pet.
The tiny transponder gets implanted under a pet's skin. A scanner then reads the chip and displays a unique ID number, which gets cross-referenced to a national database. This is how animal shelters or veterinarians can pull up the pet parent's contact details.
A microchip can remain active for up to 25 years, according to a . Pet owners must ensure their contact details are up-to-date in the database including phone numbers and addresses. The article also reported that about 72 percent of microchipped animals were successfully reunited with their owners.
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