Jennifer Ravenel hasn't been able to hold a cat on her lap since Sam Sam the Cat Man went missing 11 years ago. She's never been able to forget the death of the stray kitten she rescued from the crook of a tree on her South Carolina farm.
But thanks to Ravenel's decision to get the microchip implanted, Sam is now back in Ravenel's lap.
Charleston County Animal Control found Sam this month, emaciated and eating scraps from a wild herd less than a mile from Ravenel's home. After scanning him for a microchip, Ravenel received an unbelievable phone call.
“I honestly thought it was a prank, because it just didn't exist, but it's a miracle in and of itself,” Ravenel told Charleston Animal Society officials.
They led Ravenel to a room where Sam was in a cage, and as soon as she saw him she burst into tears.
“Sam Sam the Cat! I've missed you so much! For 11 years!” she said.
Once everyone was sure Sam was OK, Ravenel was able to hold the cat on her lap again. She hugged Sam, told him he was hers, and commented that he was very skinny.
“I haven't held a cat in the 11 years since she left. It's heartbreaking. To feel her little heartbeat, oh my God, it's the craziest thing in my life,” Ravenel said in a video provided by the animal society.
Animal Society spokeswoman Kay Hyman said Sam probably weighed 15 pounds (6.8 kilograms) when he went missing and was half that weight when he was found.
Ravenel first found Sam amongst a pack of wild cats after hearing a quiet meow from a crooked cat in a tree. Sam sat on her lap and followed her around the farm.
But one day, a dog came and startled Sam, and she couldn't find it.
“We searched the woods a lot, we asked all the neighbours and no one had seen him, but he survived,” Ravenel told social workers as she stroked the kitten and now-old friend.
The reunion would not have been possible without a microchip implanted under Sam's skin, which the animal society said showed how important such permanent identification is for pets.
Ravenel told the shelter that Sam spends most of his time at the foot of her bed and doesn't want to go back outside.
