After 12 years apart, woman reunites with old cat at NOCO Humane – Loveland Reporter-Herald

When Julie Gloer adopted her cat, Mr. Kitty, around 2011, he was aptly named: Mr. Kitty. Kitty was only a few weeks old and small.

An easygoing and friendly cat, he gently sniffed the flowers in a vase on the table.

Gloer had to leave Mr. Kitty with a neighbor when his living situation changed, and the two continued to live separately for 12 years.

Recently, Gloer, now living in Greeley, was looking for a companion for her dog while working as a medical assistant at various King Soopers locations, largely in Fort Collins, to periodically browse animals available for adoption at NOCO Humane. .

As she scrolled down the page, she came across a surprise. A cat named Mr. Kitty, about the same age as her cat from all those years ago, and with the same fur color and markings, was staying at the NOCO Humane facility in Loveland.

“I looked at his face and said, ‘Oh my God, it’s Mr. Kitty,'” Gloer said. “He has the same marks on his face, the same line here, the same line on his head. So I immediately picked up the phone.

She asked if NoCo Humane had named him or if he had been delivered under that name, and they confirmed that he had been returned and that he was called Mr. Kitty when he arrived.

“I said, ‘That’s my cat, I’m coming to get him,’” she said.

She’s not sure how Mr. Kitty got to NoCo Humane because the center doesn’t release information about people who abandon animals. She is no longer in contact with the neighbor who took the cat all those years ago, and although she might return to the neighborhood to see if the neighbor still lives there, Gloer said she is just happy to having her cat back in her life. .

About 13 years old and suffering from arthritis, Mr. Kitty had been waiting at NoCo Humane since October 16, because older cats are often more difficult to place with families. But while she was initially concerned that she wouldn’t be able to afford medication for an older indoor/outdoor cat, it turned out that in addition to needing vitamins and hairball medication, about $30 a month, Mr. Kitty was in good health.

Mr. Kitty has been with Gloer for less than a week and is acclimating well. He has his own room, where his litter box and food and water dishes stay, with a screen door through the door frame that Mr. Kitty can jump through but Gloer’s dog cannot, giving him his own private space if he is stressed.

“Yes, he’s older and he has a little arthritis, but if I can love him for the rest of his life, then that’s what I’m going to do,” she said.

Gloer went through a difficult time herself, she said, and Mr. Kitty represents not only a companion, but also something of a sign.

She has moved away from her children, but wants a reunion. She sent them a message that Mr. Kitty was back after so many years, but has yet to receive a response.

“Finding him gives me hope,” she said, choking up slightly. “It reaffirms my belief that if we can come together after all these years, then maybe my children and I can too.”

Originally published: December 7, 2024 at 2:59 p.m. MST