IN 2010, an Australian woman experienced the fright of her life when her cherished cat, Mishka, escaped from her outdoor enclosure. Georgia Tsatsaris wouldn’t see her beloved pet again for the next ten years.

But just when Tsatsaris had given up hope of ever seeing Mishka again, the Chadstone, Australia, resident received an unbelievable call recently. A construction worker had found a cat matching Mishka’s description hanging around a local project, and taken the animal to a local veterinarian. Staff had scanned the presumed stray for a microchip and discovered Tsatsaris’s long-lost cat.

Sadly, Mishka hadn’t fared very well on her own, and Tsatsaris was shocked by her pet’s emaciated appearance. The cat was also battling a severe upper respiratory infection, in addition to her extreme weight loss. “When I saw her looking so defeated and bony, I just broke down,” Tsatsaris told the Herald Sun. “She doesn’t look anything like she used to and I couldn’t even pick her up, she was so emaciated.”

But Mishka immediately recognized Tsatsaris, and seemed visibly relieved to see her long-lost owner. “I have no idea what she’s been through which breaks my heart but when I went to see her for the first time, I said her name and she let out a soft meow as she curled up to me and rubbed her face against my cheek,” the cat’s owner said.

Meanwhile, Tsatsaris’s friends created a GoFundMe page to help cover Mishka’s medical bills, which were certain to be expensive.

Fortunately Tsatsaris had raised over US$2,700 for Mishka’s rehabilitation.

(SD-Agencies)