Kitten Splitting Town

Missing New Mexico cat found in Chicago
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

CHICAGO — No one knows how a tabby cat named Charles travelled the 1,300 miles from his New Mexico home to Chicago, but he’s set for a complimentary flight home.

Charles disappeared about eight months ago while his owner was out of town and a friend was caring for him.

“Oh, I was crushed, and I found out while I was away volunteering with Habitat for Humanity, and I was so upset because I was in New Orleans so there was nothing I could do,” said Robin Alex, of Albuquerque.

Then earlier this week, Alex received a call telling her Chicago Animal Care and Control had picked up her wandering cat as a stray. Staffers reached out to Alex after finding that Charles had a tracking microchip embedded between his shoulder blades, said the agency’s executive director, Cherie Travis.

But Alex said she could not afford the round-trip ticket to Chicago to bring Charles home, so she was afraid he might be euthanized.

Enter fellow Albuquerque resident Lucien Sims. Sims said he has a tabby cat who strongly resembles Charles, and was moved when his mother sent him an online story about Alex and her pet.

Most importantly, Sims was on his way to Chicago on Thursday for a wedding, so he said he would go to the shelter, pick up Charles and bring him back to New Mexico.

Sims has made all the arrangements for Charles’ return, including getting a company to donate a cat carrier and American Airlines to waive the cat’s travel fee.

Travis said Charles is definitely ready for his next adventure.

“He’s in good condition,” she said. “He needs a good brushing. He’s got a little bit of a cold — a little bit of an upper respiratory infection — but otherwise he’s in great condition.”

Pets astound me in this way. I once had a cat that left for a year and a half and showed back up on our door one night. I'm a human and if I were drinking heavy the whole time I was gone I'm not sure I could find my way back to West Side Odessa. Now common logic would tell us this cat probably glombed onto another family that took him to Chicago and then freed himself. I would think it would be pretty hard for a cat to travel from Arizon to Chicago on its own. Especially since it would have a hard time hitching a ride with no thumbs. Either way I'm glad to see all worked out for the cat lady.