STAUNTON — Firefly showed up at Abby Shirkey's house during the pandemic, August 2020. A tiny kitten, Firefly was very skittish. He'd go under Shirkey's porch in an opening big enough to fit only very small animals.
Shirkey would put food out for him. The cat would wait for her and her husband to leave before eating. They'd put toys out for him. When the humans weren't around, he'd get the toys and take them under the porch. After three weeks of this, Shirkey finally caught Firefly in a humane trap.
Then the process of socializing the feral cat began.
"It probably took another two weeks of me leaving food in the room and then sitting in there," Shirkey said. "I spent nights lying on my hardwood floor just getting him more used to me."
It took a year and a half before Firefly would even go downstairs. It took about that long before he warmed up to Shirkey's husband and Shirkey's other cats. It wasn't a quick process, but the work Shirkey put into it was well worth it. The two formed an extremely close bond through the experience.
"If you had soulmates in other animals, this is my soulmate," Shirkey said.
Then last summer, on July 17, 2023, Firefly disappeared. He escaped out the front door of Shirkey's home on Parkview Avenue, heading right back under the porch that he had first been found three years earlier. It took Shirkey about a day to coax the cat back out, but as she was carrying him back into the house he escaped again. He didn't go under the porch this time, and Shirkey had no idea where he was.
Firefly is microchipped, so Shirkey spread the word around the neighborhood, she posted on social media, she contacted the Shenandoah Valley Animal Services Center in Lyndhurst. No luck.
Shirkey was heartbroken.
Then on Tuesday, June 25, just about three weeks shy of a year since Firefly went missing, Shirkey was about to head to bed when she saw a text message from an unknown number. It was from a volunteer with Microchip Hunters.
"On orange tabby cat named Firefly was found and the shelter submitted his chip info to us to contact you," the message read. "Are you missing this kitty?"
And there, under the message, was a photo of Firefly.
"I think my heart stopped for a second," said Shirkey, who immediately replied with a "Yes" and four exclamation marks.
She ran up the stairs and, in her excitement, started her husband awake. She told him the news then tried to go to sleep herself, but it wasn't easy, anticipating the reunion the next day. The Shenandoah Valley Animal Services Center in Lyndhurst didn't open until 11 that Wednesday morning, but Shirkey was there at 10:30.
"I think I cried as much as when he disappeared," Shirkey said of the reunion.
Firefly had been found on Aiken Street in Staunton, just a couple of blocks away from Shirkey. He had apparently been living on the street for the last year. Shirkey said her cat is two pounds lighter than when he left. His coat is pretty scruffy. He has a chipped tooth. Otherwise, though, he's in good shape. Shirkey is going to take him to the veterinarian for a complete checkup.
Firefly is now back in his room, happy to be home.
"Here's the moral of this story," Shirkey said. "Microchip your pets, indoor or outdoor, it doesn't matter. This cat was just indoors and got out. And keep your information that's associated with that up to date. And if you find a pet and you think you want to keep them, take them to the vet and have them scanned for a microchip just in case it is someone else's missing kitty."
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— Patrick Hite is a reporter at The News Leader. Story ideas and tips always welcome. Contact Patrick (he/him/his) at phite@newsleader.com and follow him on Instagram @hitepatrick . Subscribe to us at newsleader.com
This article originally appeared on Staunton News Leader: Purr-fect ending: Staunton woman reunited with her cat a year after it disappeared
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