Ana Cuprill cuddles Ivy who was lost for seven years
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PINEDALE – On their way to Grandma’s house for Thanksgiving, the Cuprill-Smith family got a call they never expected – their pet cat Ivy had been brought to Happy Endings Animal Rescue.
But wait: Ivy had been missing seven years, maybe longer.
Susan Stringfellow, vice-president of Pinedale’s no-kill animal rescue, said in early November she was helping a man with a dog at the facility. She said another man walked in with a cat carrier and cat.
Following some discussion, Stringfellow said the man lived in the Upper Green, not near any other homes. He said about seven years earlier, the cat had appeared. It was friendly, so he and his wife assumed someone had abandoned the unwanted animal. He and his wife would put out food. When it was cold they would let the cat they called “Prissy” come inside to stay warm.
During the seven years this went on, the man said the cat was tough and had battles with raccoons and other predators.
Stringfellow said the man explained his wife had developed an allergy to the cat limiting the cat’s access to the home and they were unwilling to let Prissy remain outside for the upcoming winter, so he brought the cat into Happy Endings. Stringfellow reassured the man, who said his wife was sad they couldn’t keep the cat, that the cat would receive a good home
Since the man had not vaccinated the cat, and the cat was not known to have had any kittens, it was taken to the veterinarian and the Town of Pinedale’s shelter. Shots were given, an examination showed the cat had been spayed, and one more thing – a microchip was found.
A call was made to the microchip company and the cat, now properly identified as “Ivy,” had an owner. However, the phone number had been disconnected. Luckily, small-town life helped Stringfellow, who knew the owner lived across the street from her friends.
Two weeks after turned into Happy Endings, Ana Cuprill got the call, and said she was shocked and also stymied what to do while they were traveling for the holiday. Happy Endings kept the pet until the family returned.
Ana Cuprill said tears were shed when they got home and the family was able to pick up the cat. Ivy was thin and seemed sore, but was very loving. And, then the pieces start to fit together. Cuprill estimated the cat may have been lost closer to 10 years ago while the family still lived on North Tyler Avenue. She said the family searched for a couple weeks. Then another neighbor reported their cat missing. “We assumed there was a predator getting the cats,” Cuprill said.
Two years later in a chance conversation with a neighbor, she was told someone in the neighborhood had been trapping cats and taking them to the Upper Green to get them out of the neighborhood. “I figured after two years, it was unlikely she would still be alive, so we never went looking,” Cuprill said.
Two weeks after being found and returned to her original family, the 16-year-old cat is filling out and gaining weight, reigns over the family’s other cat and two dogs from her basket in the Cuprill-Smith living room and gets regular brushings and feedings.
“She can live out the rest of her nine lives in comfort,” Cuprill said.