Cat reunited with Michigan owner three years after disappearance

Aug. 29 (UPI) -- A Michigan animal control director and a veterinary clinic helped reunite a man with his pet cat that had been missing for three years.

Ionia County Animal Control Director Carly Quinn said she responded to a Facebook post about a Persian cat that appeared to be struggling to stand up in a garden outside of an Ionia home and she brought the feline to Sterner Veterinary Clinic.

Veterinarians shaved the female cat's long hair, which was full of maggots and fleas, and she started to improve after being given food and water.

Quinn said the cat's microchip identified her as Violet, a 10-year-old cat belonging to Drew Potter of Grand Rapids.

The contact information on the chip was out of date, but Quinn was able to contact Potter through Facebook and reunite him with the cat.

Potter said Violet had been missing for three years. He said he doesn't know how she traveled from Grand Rapids to Ionia, but his family is glad to have her back at home.