Owner reunited with lost cat after chip confusion

Fred, pictured with brother Gino, was returned to his owner on Monday

A woman has been reunited with her missing cat by police after a microchipping company would not tell her where he was.

Beryl Edwards' cat Fred vanished from her home in Market Drayton, Shropshire, in August.

She heard nothing more of his whereabouts until last week when she received a request for a change of ownership.

However, because of data protection rules, the microchipping company said it could not provide information on his prospective new owners.

Beryl Edwards adopted Fred and Gino from an animal shelter in September 2021

"Can you imagine the range of emotions from, ‘Fred! He’s alive, he’s OK’ to ‘transfer of ownership? What’s this all about?’," Ms Edwards told the BBC on Monday.

She contacted West Mercia Police for help, who said they were treating it as a potential theft.

With special access to the information the microchipping company, Identibase, had been unable to share, officers were able to track down Fred.

“I'm totally over the moon," Ms Edwards said.

"I can’t praise Market Drayton police enough, they got on to the case on Sunday, contacted the people on Monday, and by 10:45 on Monday evening they brought Fred home."

Ms Edwards said Gino had been missing his brother during his absence

Next year, it will become law for all cats to be microchipped and Fred's disappearance raised questions about returning cats to their rightful owners which Ms Edwards said must be answered before it is enforced.

Stefan Blakiston-Moore, from Cats Protection, said most of the time microchips led to positive outcomes for lost cats.

"In most cases, if your cat becomes lost and is found we will be able to scan it and get it back to you," he said.

"It is a very complicated situation with the case of Beryl’s cat, there can be these complications that come up but generally this isn’t the case."

For now, Fred is settling back into his life with his brother Gino.

"He’s roaming around the house, obviously he’s kept in doors," she said.

"He’s playing, he’s eating, having lots of cuddles, lots of love, he’s great."