Sheffield cat reunited a year after disappearing without a trace

Three-year-old Arlo disappeared from his home in Firth Park, Sheffield, in April 2021 and despite extensive enquiries was feared to have been lost forever.

When Fallon Gibbons originally got Arlo it was immediately clear he loved to be outside.

Fallon said: “Arlo would always find a way to get out and explore but he’d never go further than our street and garden and he’d always come when we shouted him for food or when he wanted to come in. But on the 22 April last year we shouted for him to come and he never did.

“We searched for him for hours and posted his photo on a Facebook group for lost pets. A few days later, when he still hadn’t returned, we had posters made and put them all around the area.”

The family feared the worst had happened to Arlo and that they would never find out his fate.

Nearly a year later, a member of the public reported a stray cat to the North Sheffield Branch of Cats Protection, who were able to bring him into care.

Branch treasurer James Nunn said: “He was reported by a neighbour of someone who believed they owned him. They'd told the neighbour they had new cats and kittens and he didn't want to go into their house anymore.

“We brought the cat into care and made him comfortable. When he was scanned for a chip it was discovered he’d ended up three miles away from his real home and we were able to quickly return Arlo to his rightful owner.

“This is a real example of how microchips work to reunite cats who may have wandered off from their owners, who are unsurprisingly devastated to have lost their pet.

“As well as reminding people to get their cats microchipped, it’s also important to make sure the contact details are kept up to date if you move to ensure we can quickly get them back where they belong.”

Arlo is now safely back home and is enjoying the attention of being the returning hero, teaming up with his best friend, family dog Tinker, and meeting the new feline member of the household, Lulu.

Fallon said: “I couldn’t believe they’d found him. I honestly thought the worse had happened. When he came home he was in a good condition. He had a bit of conjunctivitis, however, his foster carer Joanne, from Cats Protection North Sheffield Branch, had taken him to the vets to get it treated and she supplied me with the ointment. She also had him vaccinated which I am thankful for.

“I would highly recommended getting any pets microchipped because if Arlo didn’t have one, I’d never have seen him again; he would have been put back up for adoption and I would never have known.”

To find out more about the work of the North Sheffield Branch of Cats Protection visit https://www.cats.org.uk/northsheffield