Angels facilitates long distance cat reunion

CANFIELD

The Tampa, Fla. woman separated from her big-eyed, black-and-gray snowshoe cat probably thought she’d never see her again — let alone after eight years and six states away.

But Barley is alive and well at Angels for Animals in Canfield, said the shelter’s cat wing manager, Sherry Bankey, who’s arranging to return the cat to her grateful owner today.

Someone delivered Barley to the shelter last week after finding the stray in their Wilmington, Pa. garage, Bankey said. But the cat’s microchip registration returned a Florida address.

“When I sent them the text and I said, ‘I think we have your cat,’ she said, ‘We haven’t had a cat for a really long time,’” Bankey said. “I sent them the picture and it was instant — ‘That’s my cat!’”

The owner lost Barley during a move eight years ago and “they were heartbroken,” Bankey said. “The cat loved to cuddle and sleep up on her chest and around her neck.”

The owner has no family or friends in Ohio and has never been to the state, Bankey said.

A Wednesday post on the shelter’s Facebook page seeking volunteers to transport Barley has been viewed more than 80,000 times around the country and shared more than 1,400 times.

“A lot of people stepped up and said they’re willing to drive her,” Bankey said. “The response has been fantastic.”

Read more in Friday’s Vindicator and on Vindy.com.