You could say Mimi is feline lucky.
The cat went missing 10 years ago on Long Island and despite her family's best efforts, she's been lost to them for the past decade. The Price family searched and searched -- putting up flyers around town and contacting local veterinarians -- but eventually they gave up hope of ever seeing their beloved cat again.
Then, out of the blue, the family received a phone call last week that Mimi had been found and turned in to the Town of Brookhaven Animal Shelter.
Mimi was not in the best shape. The shelter's supervisor, Linda Klamplf, said the cat had not been eating enough and her fur was badly matted.
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"It felt like a shield of armor, that's how bad she was matted," Klampfl said.
The staff at the shelter cleaned up the cat and found she was microchipped -- leading them all the way to Spain. It turns out, her owner had retired last year and moved across the ocean.
The news was hard to believe. Richard Price remembers his initial reaction: "Oh my god she's alive, this is fantastic. And oh my god we left her there."
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"We felt both elated and horrified at the same time," he said.
In July 2012, Mimi had been staying at Price's sister-in-law's home in Miller Place when the cat got out. An extensive search yielded no results and there was simply no sign of her.
"If only she could talk and tell us what she's been through," Price said.
Lucky that at age 13, Mimi is still healthy and after being groomed is on her way to looking like her old self again. A relative of the family is watching Mimi until Richard and his wife visit Long Island next month. They plan to take her back to Spain with them.
