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Sandy MacArthur, of the Kelowna SPCA, displays a tattooed cat. (Photo Gary Moore)
By Holly Miyasaki
A tattoo for a human often represents status, spiritual beliefs or makes a fashion statement, but for animals it’s all about finding your way home.
For Willis, a two-year-old house cat, his tattoo made the difference between being lost on the streets of Kelowna and being returned to his family.
Willis and his family moved from the Sutherland Avenue area to KLO Road, and after a short adjustment period to his new settings, where he spent several hours a day outside, he disappeared.
“We thought it got into someone’s shed or got locked into a garage somehow,” explains his owner Jacqueline Faria, adding he was adventurous and spent a lot of time exploring the area.
After a search for Willis overnight didn’t turn up anything, Faria called area veterinarian clinics and the SPCA in search of her cat. None had heard anything and some suggested the area she lived in could have predators like raccoons or coyotes.
“We figured he was gone,” recalls Faria. “We didn’t know what happened, maybe he got hit by a car or maybe a coyote got him.”
So a little less than a week later they went to the SPCA to see if they could find a companion for their other cat, who was acting depressed since Willis’ disappearance. They selected a kitten and planned to return the next day to pick it up. But that night, they received a call from the SPCA saying they had Willis.
Willis is happily back with his family thanks to being identified by his tattoo. (Photo contributed)
“Someone found him close to where we used to live near the A&W (at Capri Centre) disoriented and going in and out of cars, they spent quite a while trying to catch him,” she explains.
Willis was taken to the SPCA, which read his tattoo, contacted his vet and found his happy owners. “They said, ‘We have Willis’,” she says. “We rushed over and got him.”
How Willis got all the way to Capri Centre is a mystery, but there have been tales of animals making long journeys in an attempt to get back to their former homes.
Dr. Jim Inglis with the Kelowna SPCA says he recalls a tattooed cat being brought in to the SPCA. Once his tattoo was read and his owners contacted, the story came to light that he had been missing for several years. Inglis says while technology like microchips can be a viable option for pet owners, they do have their flaws.
“Microchips work really well, but again you have to scan the whole animal,” he explains, adding often chips are inserted over the animal’s shoulder blade, but can migrate to other parts in the body. So it can be missed if the entire body of the pet is not scanned.
Also, in the past different scanner companies created different scanners to read their chips. But many of today’s chips can be read by a range of scanners.
A majority of animals today get tattooed, whether it’s done by breeders or animal welfare groups that adopt them out. But according to Inglis, about 40 per cent of the pets they see at the shelter are not tattooed.
If you find a lost pet, take it to the SPCA where it can be checked for a microchip or tattoo.
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Tags: jacqueline faria, SPCA
