Elderly cat missing for two years reunited with family at Sevier County shelter

SEVIER COUNTY, Tenn. (WATE) — Two years after he disappeared, Cosmo the cat has been reunited with his family thanks to a microchip, a delivery driver and the Sevier Animal Care Center.

Wednesday morning, Sevier Animal Care Center shared a photo of Cosmo, who is a 15-year-old orange cat, alongside his owners.

A spokesperson for the shelter told 6 News that two years ago, Cosmo was one of two older cats in his family’s household. The family’s other cat passed away, and just a few weeks later, Cosmo disappeared.

According to the shelter, Cosmo’s family thought he may have left the family’s home in Seymour to grieve or possibly to find somewhere to pass away himself. Instead, two years later, Cosmo was found by a delivery driver in the same neighborhood that he had gone missing from.

The shelter shared that because Cosmo’s family had microchipped him, the shelter was able to call and let them know that Cosmo had been found.

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Microchipping pets is one of the best ways to help pets get home if they ever get lost. According to Sevier Animal Care Center, only 6% of lost cats get reclaimed nationwide once they are brought into an animal shelter, and for dogs, the percentage is a little higher at 11%. Microchipping is often offered by veterinarians and shelters. Sevier Animal Care Center shared that it offers the service for personally owned animals for $20, and no appointment is needed.

If your pet is microchipped but you’ve possibly moved or changed phone numbers, PetCo shared that the information on the chip can be changed by contacting the microchip registry.

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