Boy Breaks Down In Tears After Finding Much-Loved Cat In Rescue Centre 18 Months After It Went Missing
Boy In Tears After Reuniting With Long-Lost Cat In Rescue Centre
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A five-year-old boy burst into tears of joy when he spotted his long-lost cat in a rescue centre 18 months after it went missing.
Ronnie and his mum Michelle Humber had gone to pick a replacement pet when they stumbled across their old cat Phoenix who vanished from their home in May 2014.
Ten-year-old Phoenix was in an enclosure next to the cat Orlando who they had arranged to collect from their local Cats Protection charity.
Mum-of-two Humber, 33, said: "It was amazing and the children were so pleased. Ronnie saw him straight away and was screaming and cheering with excitement.
"He was purring as soon as we went over to him and it was amazing to be able to hold him again."
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The moment Ronnie found his cat
Humber said her two boys were devastated when Phoenix went missing because he played such a big part of their lives.
Phoenix disappeared from the family's home in Littleover, Derbyshire last year, but despite plastering the neighbourhood with posters, he never turned up.
"When he went missing, we'd no idea where he'd gone," Humber said.
"We got told he had been taken in by an old man but we never saw him and we eventually just gave up hope of finding him.
"It came to the point a few weeks ago where we were talking about getting a kitten. The lads were really keen on the idea because they missed Phoenix so much."
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Ronnie with Phoenix before he went missing
The family eventually gave up hope of finding Phoenix, who they had got as a three-year-old in 2008, and continued to look after their other moggie Ditto.
But when Ditto died last month, the family decided to go to the Cats Protection centre in Derby to pick out a new cat.
"We saw Orlando and went back a week later to pick him up and that is when we spotted Phoenix in the next door enclosure," said Humber.
Humber said Phoenix was still registered with his microchip as living at their old address and he had a little wonky ear, so all of that confirmed it was him.
Staff at Cats Protection told the family Phoenix had been brought in to the charity two months ago after someone took him to the vets as a stray.
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A very happy Ronnie
Humber's partner Jay Cockroft, 38, a binman, added: "It's a bizarre coincidence but we'll all delighted to have Phoenix back. The boys couldn't believe it when they saw him."
Humber added: "I know the lads are buzzing with excitement because that's all they're talking about.
"He's a really friendly and pleasant cat. He's perfect and great with the children.
"The staff were brilliant. I'm not sure if they've ever seen something like this happen before.
"They're very professional and because they've cared for Phoenix so well it means we can welcome him back into our lives.
"I don't know what the odds are of what happened to us but I imagine they're pretty small."
The Amazing Acro-Cats consists of 14 cats -- of which all but two are female.
There's also three performing rats (all female), one groundhog (male) and a hen named Cluck Norris, who plays cymbals in the Acro-Cats' house band, the Rock Cats.
Cluck Norris also lays eggs. "We eat them," says Samantha Martin, the Acro-Cats creator and ringleader. (credit:The Amazing Acro-Cats)
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The Amazing Acro-Cats and their human helpers -- Martin, as well as publicist Polly Smith and fearless assistant Seunga Park -- travel about 10 months of the year on a "purr-fect" 35-foot tour bus that is kitted out for the cats' maximum comfort. For example, the cats get the on-board master bedroom.
"The cats have more room than the humans," says Martin. (credit:The Amazing Acro-Cats)
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Samantha Martin's first traveling animal circus specialized in rats.
"The Amazing Acro-Rats," she says. "I couldn't make a living on just rats."
About a decade ago, Martin switched to that other misunderstood, often underestimated breed of animal: cats. She'd put on cat shows at art galleries and other small venues, and began realizing this might be a more sustainable venture.
"People started showing up in droves," Martin says. (credit:The Amazing Acro-Cats)
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The cats and other performing critters are taught their tricks using only positive reinforcement, like clicker training and food treats. They're never scolded or punished.
"No one protests after they've seen the show," Martin says. "It's not cruel in any way." (credit:The Amazing Acro-Cats)
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You may not be able to run off with the cat circus, exactly. But you can definitely participate!
Volunteers in each city help out with the box office and wrangling cats between shows. Or if you've got a pad where the kitties can crash for a couple of days between gigs, that's also very welcome.
As are folks who have some bus-fixing skills they want to donate.
The Rock Cats are (as far as we know) the world's only feline rock band.
Tuna the cat is on cowbell. Sookie plays the chimes. Nue's on keyboards. Dakota hammers away on the drums. And, of course, Cluck Norris pecks away at the cymbals.
The result: a little dada. A little daffy. Completely delightful. (credit:The Amazing Acro-Cats)
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The Amazing Acro-Cats often travel with foster kittens, who are available for adoption. In fact, since Martin has a special fondness for the teeniest kitties, the tour bus travels with an incubator.
All these babies get basic clicker training, Martin says, and most are able to high-five by the time they are dispatched to their forever families.
So far, 157 cats have been fostered and then adopted into permanent homes, Martin says. That should be 158 soon -- an adoption application has been put in in for a sweet little orange guy named Opie. (credit:The Amazing Acro-Cats)
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The Acro-Cats aren't just here to entertain you (though, certainly, they will do that). Samantha Martin is also using her feline circus to show you that cats are really, really fun and trainable.
"I want to help people build a better relationship with their cat," she says.
To that end, Martin has devised a cat training kit. We can't promise your cat will do leaps like this one on command after using the kit, but we can promise you all will have a good time. (credit:The Amazing Acro-Cats)
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The cats can sometimes be a bit persnickety. As well-trained as they are, as much fresh tuna as they're rewarded with, feline performers don't always feel like doing their tricks.
Cluck Norris, on the other hand, never misses her mark.
"You don't see cat circuses around because people can't stand the humiliation," says Martin. "Cluck is a total professional. Has a good work ethic." (credit:The Amazing Acro-Cats)
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Home is an apartment in Chicago with a big screened-in yard, where, Martin says, she and the cats pretty much do the same things as what they do on stage, in front of an audience.
The jumps and tightropes are spread out across the living room, and the Rock Cats' instruments are set up in the kitchen, where they like to play while Martin cooks.
"This is what I would do at home," she says, wearing a cat ear headband, and gesturing toward one Acro-Cat who's climbing up a tower, and another seated at a set of drums, while several more sit on scraps of purple carpet -- their "marks" -- and other perches, waiting to be rewarded for their efforts. (Cluck Norris is napping in her carrier, and Garfield the groundhog is running laps around the room, pausing only occasionally to be petted.)
But as fun as it is being home -- and it is fun, for those couple of months a year -- getting back on the road is also a good time, for Martin and the rest of the gang.
"I love to travel. I love to see the countryside," she says. "And I get to be with my pets 24/7." (credit:The Amazing Acro-Cats)