Cat lost for 14 years reunited with family

DES MOINES, Iowa (CNN) – Stories of cross-country reunions prove microchips have a purpose in pets, but not often have we heard of them coming into play across a decade.

An ID chip helped an Iowa woman reunite with the cat she last saw as a girl -14 years ago.

Jill Petticord says she adopted Ralph as a kitten from an animal shelter in 1998, but she lost him three years later.

Last week, Ralph showed up at the animal shelter again and his chip showed Petticord’s mom as the owner.

“I’m going, ‘I don’t have a cat,’ and they said, ‘Yeah, you do,’” Rita Korn, Jill Petticord’s mother, said.

“Kind of turned his head sideways, and his eyes perked up, and I said, ‘Oh my gosh, that’s my kitty,” Jill Petticord recalled. “I am just glad that he gets to finish out his life with me and not somewhere out on the streets.”

The animal shelter said Ralph lost weight and fur from being a stray for so long. Now the family is working to get him healthy again.