Cat missing for over 18 months reunited with Guernsey family
Salem the cat has come home after more than a year and a half away, thanks to a Facebook lost-pets group and a observant islander.
A cat who disappeared for more than 18 months is back with his family in Guernsey, after a community Facebook group and a watchful islander helped bring him home.
Salem got out in June last year, while his owner Krissi Carre and her daughter Ionie were in the middle of moving house. Krissi believes he worked out how to open a first-floor window and climbed outside. The family searched for him but never caught sight of him again.
The turning point came when Salem was featured on the Guernsey Lost and Found Pets page. The post prompted Allie Worman to recognise him and catch him. She had begun to suspect a cat was visiting her home after spotting cat biscuits scattered on the floor.
Salem had no microchip, so there was nothing to point to his owners straight away. He went to the GSPCA, where staff treated him for ticks and an ulcer on his eye. Steve Byrne, the charity’s manager, said the missing chip made tracing the family difficult, but the Facebook post gave them what they needed to find Krissi.
Ionie called the reunion “one of the happiest moments of my life.” Krissi said it was a very emotional moment and that she cried. She explained that the past months had been stressful, and that Salem arrived back just in time for Ionie’s GCSEs, as her daughter had been finding life hard without him. She added that she would love the people who helped for ever.
The Facebook group says it has recovered more than 450 cats in the last few years, and that Salem was the 17th long-lost cat found this year. It also offers advice to anyone whose cat has gone astray. Worman said it was a delight to see a happy ending, with Salem back among people who adore him.
Byrne said Salem’s long absence was not unusual, noting that the GSPCA has come across cats that had been missing for over 10 years. He added that Guernsey has one of the highest concentrations of cats per household anywhere in Europe. He hoped that cats seen wandering about belong to somebody, and said anyone concerned should contact the GSPCA.
Why it matters
For many families a missing pet leaves a long, anxious silence, and Salem’s return shows how much a well-connected community can achieve. A lost-pets page, an attentive neighbour and a charity able to provide care all played their part in a cracking result. It is also a reminder that a microchip can help a found animal be traced to its owners, something the GSPCA found difficult in Salem’s case.
