A story with a happy ending...

(From Townsville Bulletin)
MEET Timothy, the cat who embarked on a mysterious 1300km northern journey.


The moggy was handed to RSPCA's Townsville shelter on Thursday along with two other cats after being found living in a rental property.

At first staff thought the cat was just one of a number of local strays, but a microchip scan showed he had been adopted from a Dakabin shelter, west of Redcliffe, in May 2009.


A quick call to Kamala Brooks, Timothy's owner, revealed the black and white coloured shorthair was last seen in Bald Hills in Brisbane's north three months earlier.

Ms Brooks was yesterday ecstatic to learn her long-lost pet was alive and well in the North.

She said she had "given up all hope" that Timothy would ever be found.

"We just can't believe he's alive, it's just unbelievable," she said. "I last saw Timmy in August (last year) when he was put out at night with another cat I had bought, Racoon. Racoon came home the next morning but there was no sign of Timmy. We did everything to try to find him, we door-knocked, did letterbox drops, but there was no trace."

Ms Brooks was at a loss to explain how the adventurous feline found his way to Townsville.

"I really don't know," she said. "Perhaps someone has moved away from here and gone to Townsville and he's stowed away. Or maybe he's found his way on to a delivery truck and has gone for a very long trip. Either way we're just glad he'll soon be coming home to us."

Townsville shelter manager Caroline Shemwell said Timothy's travels also had RSPCA staff stumped.

"I'm not sure who was more surprised - the owner in receiving a call from Townsville about a lost Brisbane cat or our staff to be speaking to an owner in Brisbane," she said. "But Timothy's in really good condition, he's a really loving cat. I think he's been treated really well on his adventure."

Ms Shemwell said Timothy's adventure emphasised the need for pet owners to microchip their animals.
"Without that microchip there is absolutely no way we would have reunited Tim with his owner," she said. Every pet owner should make sure their animals are microchipped. It is also important people keep their details up to date, which Timothy's owner has done."

Timothy was last night awaiting a flight back to his family in Brisbane.