And then there are cats with a desire to travel !!

When "Blackjack" was picked up as a kitten in the veld in Edenvale in 1991, "He was just a ball of blackjacks" said Simon Rees who found him. "and the vets bills to get him right. Unreal!"

Blackjack grew to be a big cat. Huge in fact. Perhaps a lot to do with the diet of chopped liver and cream that was his daily fare.

He was an aristocrat in everyone's eyes, although his pedigree was unknown. A much loved pet that lived the Life of Riley in the Rees household.

Blackjack went missing in January 2001 and was reclaimed some days later by Simon, from the Sandton SPCA, complete with an Identipet microchip implant. "Jack" was now Identipetted!

Cats have a feline independence, which allows them a self-imposed right to travel. However this is normally only within a few urban blocks of home, and is usually dictated by the moon, or other neighbourhood cats. Jack disappeared again in February 2001.

"Was it the more sensible diet of IAMS that Jack was now on?" asked Simon. Whatever it was, Jack was gone. "After some months we gave up!"

But 12-year-old Blackjack surpassed even feline travel expectations!

Durban and Coastal SPCA called the Identipet Lost Animal Recovery line on December 13th 2003, for information on a black cat found in Durban.

Simon Rees was at lunch with friends when he was contacted. "There was such a long pause," said Lillian, the SPCA operator who made the call. "He was so amazed. I thought he had put the phone down".

Simon couldn't believe it. Blackjack, lost in Johannesburg February 2001. Found in Durban, December 2003, almost three years later, and 700 Kms away.

Blackjack is found! Simon is amazed. Durban SPCA is amazed. Identipet is amazed. How did a 12-year-old cat cover that distance?

It will always be a mystery. If only Blackjack could talk. He can't, but his recovery is a measure of the responsibility and love that Simon has for his pet. He was "Identipetted" by Sandton SPCA and that tiny microchip, the size of a grain of rice, confirmed his identity and bridged the 700 Km gap. Simon got the phone call, "We've found your pet!"

Was Blackjack lost?
Was he found by someone who tried to give him a home, or was he "Catnapped" by someone who just assumed ownership?

Whatever the case may be, the Identipet microchip and database, coupled with the dedication of SPCAs brought a happy conclusion to the tale of Blackjack. The aristo-cat who one day just went for a walk!