One-eyed cat reunited with owner after five years in jail

A one-eyed cat that went missing five years ago has been reunited with its owner, officials say.

The Scottish SPCA announced in a press release on Friday that the cat, Dexter, was found in a shipping container on an offshore oil rig. It’s unclear how Dexter ended up on the platform; however, officials said the container came from Peterhead, the Scottish town Dexter has called home for the past five years.

‘We were alerted to an incident yesterday of a cat being found in a shipping container offshore,’ Aimee Findlay, Scotland’s SPCA animal officer, said in Friday’s statement, adding that Dexter had been brought back. ashore by helicopter.

Officials soon learned that Dexter was living as a wanderer outside Peterhead Prison. There he was fed, “loved” and even received a special nickname.

“The cat had been nicknamed ‘one-eyed Joe’ by the prison who had been feeding him for five years, but after checking him for a microchip, it turns out his real name is Dexter and he’s been missing for five years !” Findlay exclaimed.

“We are so happy that he was well cared for during the time he went missing, but we were even more thrilled to be able to reunite him with his original owner thanks to his updated microchip,” Findlay continued.

According to the ASPCA, “Microchips are tiny, rice-sized transponders that can be implanted into your pet’s skin by many veterinarians and animal shelters.”

While they’re a great “backup option” for pet identification, the organization says they should never be used alone.

“Reading a microchip requires a special scanner, one that an animal control officer or shelter will have, but not your neighbor down the street,” the ASPCA explained. “That said, microchips provide an extra level of protection in case your pet loses their collar and tags.”

Indeed, several cats in addition to Dexter have found their masters thanks to their microchips.

In December, an Arizona pet owner reunited with her cat, Monkey Face, after spending six years apart.

“[The] the meeting was PRICELESS! It was easy to see the joy they had in cuddling after so long,” San Antonio Care Services said in a Facebook post about the reunion.

The Scottish SPCA also managed to reunite a couple with their 12-year-old cat in September after a decade apart. And last summer, a woman received a call from a vet saying her cat, Mini Max, had been found after going missing six years earlier.