For years, his new owners believed they had rescued a stray cat. It wasn't until a routine vet visit that the truth came out: the cat was microchipped and already had a family. The phone call made by vet Krista Magnifico, owner of the Jarrettsville Veterinary Center in Maryland, USA, then took a completely unexpected turn.
The story was shared in a video posted on her Instagram account, @kmagnifico, on 7th September. As she explains, her team calls the numbers linked to microchips "almost every week" in the hope of reuniting a pet with its family. It's a step she considers essential.
A phone call that changed everything
Upon scanning the microchip of the cat recently brought in for a check-up, Magnifico discovered he was once named Prince. She immediately called his former owners to share the good news: their companion had been found, alive and well.
The person on the other end of the line was emotional. But very quickly, something surprised the vet. Instead of asking for Prince to be returned, the family explained that the cat seemed happy where he was... and that the people who had taken him in could keep him.
On Instagram, the reactions came thick and fast. Many were outraged: why wouldn't they want to take back a cat they had searched for for months? And why had his new owners never thought to check for a microchip before?
In a follow-up comment, Magnifico clarified a few things that helped to calm the debate. Prince had originally been found as a stray by his first family. They had him vaccinated and neutered, and tried to get him used to life indoors. But the cat felt safer outside and would often slip away. One day, he never came back. His family spent months searching for him.
In reality, the feline had found shelter in a barn several miles away. It took his future adopters a long time to get close to him and then to earn his trust. Gradually, Prince began to let them care for him, feed him, and shower him with affection.
A happy ending
Magnifico explained that the cat had actually been to her clinic years before for an illness, but the microchip hadn't been detected at the time. During this latest appointment, however, the chip showed up loud and clear. True to her principles, the vet contacted the first family. But they, reassured to know that Prince was doing well, felt it was best not to disrupt his new life. In the meantime, they had adopted other cats, convinced he would never return.
"They understood that he was happier there," explains Magnifico. For her, it's a true happy ending. The former owners no longer have to worry, and the new ones, who put so much effort into taming this cat, get to keep him.
