Holiday heart-warmer: Cat missing for five months is back with his Des Moines owner
Just in time for Thanksgiving, Stephanie Neeson has something to be extra thankful for: Missing for five months, her pet cat has been reunited with her.
It apparently wasn't the first time Grayson, a gray-and-white tuxedo cat, had wandered off. Neeson, 52, of Beaverdale, said her mother made his acquaintance in December 2021 when he hopped into her car one afternoon in Des Moines and refused to get out. After searching for his owners, Neeson's family took Grayson in as their own.
"He just became our cat. We have two dogs and another cat, and they became best buddies. My grandchildren fell in love with them," Neeson said.
But seven months later, on June 20, he chose an ironic moment to wander off again. Neeson said her mother had taken Grayson to Starch Pet Hospital on University Avenue to have a microchip implanted so he could be located should he get lost again. But while she carried his cage into the clinic, he managed to break free and fled south.
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"He broke the cage right at the door. And so we were a few minutes short of getting him microchipped, where we would have been able to find him," Neeson said. "This made it an even harder pill to swallow."
Month of searching turns up no leads
Neeson and her family looked around the University Avenue area daily for at least a month. Every evening, Neeson checked websites like Petco Love Lost, Facebook and NextDoor for any report Grayson had turned up. But it appeared he was gone for good.
In reality, he hadn't gone far at all. In early October, Rosie Ruiz, 18, noticed an unfamiliar cat approaching the chicken coop she keeps on her property north of University Avenue. Ruiz said her neighborhood often has stray cats roaming the streets and she sometimes lets her own cat play with them.
Ruiz said Grayson slowly became acclimated to the other cats and his surroundings. It took him some time to become comfortable with her petting and feeding him, but she said he was less cautious than the other strays, which is why she suspected he had an owner.
"He was too friendly to be stray cat," Ruiz said. "Honestly, he was so nice. When I brought him inside, I felt like he knew that he was safe."
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Ruiz took photos of Grayson and posted them Nov. 11 on NextDoor, asking if anyone knew his owner. Neeson responded early the next morning, and described her reaction to receiving notice of Grayson's whereabouts as completely surreal.
"It was exhilarating," Neeson said. "It was at like four in the morning, and at four o'clock in the morning, you think 'Did I see what I just saw?'"
Neeson said she'd seen lost cats before that looked like Grayson, but with Ruiz's photos, she was able to identify Grayson based on two dots on his face, one on each side of his nose.
"When I saw that pattern, I just instantly knew."
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Neeson said she's grateful to have him back home. On Thursday, as the family celebrates Thanksgiving, Grayson will be treated with pieces of roasted turkey and sweet potato pie.
"He loves to eat, and has had many treats since arriving back home," she said.
Nina Baker is a news reporter at the Des Moines Register. She can be reached at NBaker@gannett.com or on Twitter @Nina_M_Baker.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Missing cat reunited with Des Moines owner in time for Thanksgiving
