Family Finds Cat Who Was Missing for Months After Mom Recognizes Meows Over the Phone

Do you know your cat well enough to recognize their meow from the background of a phone call? By Austin Cannon January 19, 2022 Advertisement Pin FB More Tweet Email Send Text Message Print

We know cats have super-powered ears, but this British mom might have her two kitties beat after her excellent hearing helped her family find their cat who as missing for months—all over the phone.

This story starts mundanely enough: Rachael Lawrence, who lives in Braintree, had called the veterinarian to check on her cat Torvi, who was there for a procedure, ITV reports. Then she hears a familiar meow. She asked if it was 11-month-old Torvi, but the person on the other phone said it came from a stray they'd been housing for a week.

black cat that was found by recognizing his meow Credit: Moraima González / EyeEm / Getty

Lawrence realized who was meowing. It had to be Barnaby, her family's 2-year-old black cat who'd gone missing eight months earlier.

"I cried. I'm talking snot bubble cries. I was howling," Lawrence told ITV.

RELATED: Thanks To Microchip, Arkansas Man To Reunite With Cat He Thought Was Dead

She got off the phone, but the meow was bugging her so she called back a couple hours later. She asked if he was black with a white patch on one of his rear feet. Yup. She took photos of Barnaby with her when she went to pick up Torvi, ITV reports.

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Lawrence "knew it was him" as soon as they brought Barnaby—nicknamed Fatman by her family—into the room. She video-called her family.

"I just said, 'Look who I've found'," she told ITV. "They went, 'Oh, my god, it's Barney. It's Fatman!' They were really happy."

Barnaby was covered in scabs, missing fur, and had lost enough weight to betray his nickname. But Lawrence says he's doing well anyways now that he's back home. It seems her attempt to microchip him hadn't worked correctly.

"We just need to fatten him up to get him back to Fatman!"