Is Your Cat a Four-Legged GPS?

Earlier this year, America fell in love with Holly, a Florida cat who lived a real-life version of the movie Homeward Bound. The 4-year-old tortoiseshell cat was separated from her owners while vacationing in an RV park near Daytona Beach. After a few days of searching for the missing feline, making posters, and canvassing the area, her owners were forced to give up and return home to their West Palm Beach home nearly 400 miles away. Holly’s owners, devastated, nonetheless assumed this would be the end of the story, until almost six weeks later when they received a call from a vet that Holly (who had a microchip implant) had been found—about a mile from the family’s home!

            Holly was skinny, he nails were dull and her paws were bleeding; but, after a little TLC from the family who found her and the veterinary team who contacted her family, she was as good as new. But experts still aren’t sure how she and other cats like her navigate long, treacherous journeys home! Still, there have been many reports of cats that have been raised domesticated and indoors finding their way home after getting lost hundreds of miles away in foreign locations. Scientists have many different theories: they might rely on sights and smell to determine direction, or they might be able to sense magnetic fields like other animals, such as wolves. And cats like Holly might simply be smarter and scrappier than their furry peers. The truth is, there is a lot that animal behaviorists still don’t understand about out quixotic housecat friends, but incidents such as this are good reminders of how complex and resourceful our pets can be!

            If you have a cat or dog, whether they are indoor or outdoor pets, it is probably best not to rely on them to find their own way home if they ever end up 400 miles away! Microchips, such as the one Holly’s owners got for her, can be painlessly implanted under the skin and then read by vets and other professionals in the event that your pet ever goes missing. And if you would like to vacation without worrying whether your cat or dog will wander off, why not send them off on a vacation of their own? The Willow Pet Hotel will pamper your pets while you’re away! Visit them online at www.willowpethotel.com.