Wake County cat reunited with owners three years after going missing: 'Unbelievable joy'

WAKE COUNTY, N.C. (WTVD) -- Robin Seavey's housecat Finn might really have nine lives.

Seavey's family adopted Finn because he was the next cat scheduled to be euthanized at the shelter. His health problems were so bad as a kitten that their veterinarian warned them he might not live to see adulthood.

Against the odds, Finn survived. He lived with the Seaveys for 10 years, a happy house cat who loved cuddling.

In the Spring of 2021, Robin noticed Finn was missing.

"He ran away," said Seavey. "He normally doesn't go outside, but he managed to get outside."

For nearly three years, Seavey did everything she could to find him. She called shelters, posted missing fliers, and posted on social media -- all with no luck. She kept his bed in his normal spot on their front windowsill the whole time just in case he ever came back.

"You never stop looking and hoping," Seavey said, though she knew the odds of him coming home were slim.

Late last month, she got a call from her daughter: Someone found Finn.

Though they'll never quite know where he was for nearly three years, Seavey's neighbor a few houses down feeds stray cats and had been feeding Finn for nearly a year. Her neighbor works with Alley Cats and Angels of North Carolina, a volunteer-run organization that traps cats to spay or neuter and vaccinate them to help with population control and curb the spreading of disease.

"The sad thing is, I posted on NextDoor and Facebook, I called everybody I knew, I called rescues, but I didn't go door to door," Seavey said.

Seavey said aside from some roughed-up paws and losing a few pounds, Finn seems as healthy as ever, and happy to be home.

"He never stopped purring for like two days," Seavey said. "It's an unbelievable joy to have him back."

Allyson Van Gorder is a volunteer with Alley Cats and Angels of North Carolina. She said she was grateful her organization could help play a part in reuniting Finn and Seavey.

"It was just the coolest thing," Van Gorder said, and she added that she and Seavey, along with the neighbor feeding strays, have all struck up a friendship because of Finn.

Seavey hopes this will be a reminder to pet owners that microchips can bring lost pets home, as long as owners are keeping all of the contact information up to date. She's also grateful to groups such as Alley Cats and Angels, without which she knows she wouldn't have Finn back home with her.

Van Gorder reminds the public that if you see a cat with a tipped ear (meaning it's missing the very tip of its left ear), that means the cat has been spayed or neutered and vaccinated.

To learn more about Alley Cats and Angels, click here.